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

10 o’clock

This is an issue I have hugely committed to, as seen from the announcement yesterday of a further 250 gardaí being recruited. This brings to 550 the number of gardaí to be recruited between September of last year and October of this year. We also have 1,100 Garda reserve members and a further 45 in training and 2,000 Garda civilian staff. The latest date for which figures are available shows 12,763 members of the Garda Síochána. I am very pleased that my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, agreed to the resumption of Garda recruitment. We have had three intakes and the first of these will attest as sworn members of the force in May, with the additional recruits attesting in September and October.

There is no particular scientific basis for calculating an optimum number but clearly there must be sufficient gardaí, supported by skilled personnel and with sufficient resources, to deliver the policing service the public expect and deserve. This is why we have put the focus on Garda recruitment and opened up Templemore and that is why I have committed to seamless, ongoing recruitment, which I am delivering on. We must look at the reforms the Garda Commissioner has started, with the establishment of the strategic transformation office to oversee the organisational changes necessary, and we must overhaul the information and communications technology.

All of these factors must come together if we are to have an efficient police force that is able to meet the objectives of the kind of community policing we want to see and the proper investigation of criminal activity. We must ensure there is the best use of all Garda resources, which is featured strongly in the recent Garda Inspectorate report on crime investigation.

With regard to sick leave, the following table shows the level of sick leave in the Garda Síochána between comparable periods in 2013 and 2014, which includes the period since the introduction of the new public service sick leave scheme. Comparing the period April to December of each year, there is a reduction in 30% in the number of days lost through sick leave. This is a welcome development.Sick Leave Statistics comparing 01 Apr-31 Dec 2013 to 01 Apr-31 Dec 2014

Sworn Members

PERIOD	Overall Sick Leave	Ordinary Illness	Injury On Duty
2013 (Apr-Dec)	173,884.5	142,257	31,627.5
2014 (Apr-Dec)	121,579	94,115	27,464
% Decrease	30%	34%	13%

NB - The above figures are as recorded on Sick Absence Management System (SAMS) and reported as at 12.02.2015.

The total number of sick days recorded on SAMS are the number of calendar days that staff are absent and may include weekends and rest days

Sick Leave Statistics comparing 01 Apr-31 Dec 2013 to 01 Apr-31 Dec 2014

Sworn Members (5/7 formula applied)

PERIOD	Overall Sick Leave	Ordinary Illness	Injury On Duty
2013 (Apr-Dec)	124,203	101,612	22,591
2014 (Apr-Dec)	86,842	67,225	19,617
% Decrease	30%	34%	13%

NB - The above figures are as recorded on SAMS and reported at 12.02.2015*

The total numbers of sick days recorded on SAMS are the number of calendar days that staff are absent and may include weekends and rest days.

To align the lost time rate for AGS in line with other public sectors the formula of 5/7 was applied to the number of sick days recorded as “ORDINARY SICK LEAVE” for 2013.

This formula was applied not withstanding that the majority of gardaí work a roster over ten weeks, working ten hour shifts, six days on and resting for four days.

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