Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At present, a total of 301 gardaí serve in the Kildare area. The Deputy outlined very clearly that one of the increasing issues with regard to crime in this country is that mobile gangs use very good transport links to facilitate crime by moving in and out of an area quickly, committing a series of crimes there. The Garda is very aware of this issue and is working to address it. A number of the initiatives it has undertaken in recent years and months, such as Operation Fiacla, to which I referred, are being used specifically to target the very point made by the Deputy. I agree with him that the allocation of Garda resources must be linked to the amount of crime in a particular area. This has not been done as effectively in the past as it needs to be now. A key point outlined in the Garda Inspectorate report in terms of the allocation of gardaí to particular areas is that it ought to be linked to population, crime figures and the threats in a particular area, whether urban or rural.

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