Mr. Drew Harris:

The additional management information I have beyond what the Deputy has been informed about, and he is well informed about the formula applied to this, is that GardaSAFE, our new system of call management introduced throughout the country in November last year, gives us far greater scope in respect of demand. In addition, we have geographic areas that are more rural, where there is less demand and genuinely far fewer calls for members of An Garda Síochána. We particularly look to the counties surrounding Dublin, and Meath is not unique in this, and the growth of the population residing there. We also have to look at the policing demand placed on An Garda Síochána by that community, while at the same time maintaining our presence, in rural areas in particular, where there is less demand but a huge amount of reassurance is given by the community policing that is undertaken.

In effect, we are running almost three different models in respect of rural areas, major towns and growing villages, in addition to urban areas. That is complex. Again, our first priority is the answering of calls and putting people out 24-7 so there is an immediate response to incidents and emergencies. That is the first thing I need to look to that, very often, does not get mentioned. My first responsibility is filling patrol cars so that we can successfully and with sufficient numbers patrol 24-7 to render assistance and respond to calls for service. Beyond that, we want to build up the specialist services, which provide support to that function. That is the overall direction of the organisation. All growth of the organisation is very welcome in easing resourcing pressures right across.