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

I will give Deputy Casey a breakdown of the detailed information requested about numbers of newly attested gardaí allocated to the Wicklow division since the first attestation of trainee gardaí in April 2015, and the number of gardaí assigned to the Wicklow division on 30 September 2014 and 28 February 2017, the latest date for which I have figures.

I can go into some detail now for the Deputy and there is further information in my written reply, which will be furnished to the Deputy and which will be published. In 2014 the personnel strength for the Wicklow division was 274, in 2015 it was 282, in 2016 it was 277 and in 2017 it was 275. In 2015 there were nine newly attested gardaí given to the Wicklow area, which is the total given to that area.

As I explained to the House earlier, the Government is committed to ensuring a stronger and more visible police presence. We have said in A Programme for Partnership Government commitments that we will increase the numbers of gardaí. There will be a workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, which will comprise 15,000 gardaí, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. The funding has been made available for 2017 and we have a plan, and Deputy O’Callaghan is aware of this plan, for each of the years in order to reach those numbers.

The target is well on course to be achieved and the Government is committed to funding it. This year, which is an important year, there will be 800 Garda recruits going into Templemore. This means that more gardaí will be able to be allocated, not just to the Deputy’s area of County Wicklow, but also throughout the state as we will have more recruits coming through.

Obviously, during the five years when the Templemore training college was closed it was an extremely difficult period for An Garda Síochána, when it was not possible for new people to be allocated or for members of An Garda Síochána to be transferred - there were many transfer requests in also.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians.

This plan is well on course to be achieved. This year, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Funding has also been provided for the recruitment of 300 Garda Reserves.

I am advised that, since the reopening of the Garda college in September 2014, there has been a total intake of some 1,400 new recruits with another 600 scheduled to enter the college by the end of this year. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that some 839 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, nine of whom have been assigned to the Wicklow division. I am also informed that another 750 trainee gardaí are scheduled to attest this year which will see Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, increase to approximately 13,500 by year end - a net increase of 700 in total Garda strength since recruitment recommenced.

This focus on investment in personnel is critical. The moratorium on recruitment introduced in 2010 resulted in a significant reduction in the strength of An Garda Síochána. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Garda Commissioner with the resources she needs to allow her to deploy increasing numbers of gardaí across every Garda division, including the Wicklow division in the coming years.

In so far as the allocation of newly attested gardaí is concerned, this is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. I am assured by the Commissioner that the needs of all Garda divisions are fully considered when determining the allocation of resources. However, it is important to keep in mind that newly attested gardaí have a further 16 months of practical and classroom based training to complete in order to receive their BA in applied policing. To ensure that they are properly supported and supervised and have opportunities to gain the breadth of policing experience required, the Garda Commissioner's policy is to allocate them to specially designated training stations which have the required training and development structures and resources in place, including trained Garda tutors and access to a permanently appointed supervisory sergeant who is thoroughly familiar with their responsibilities under the training programme.

For ease of reference I have provided, for the record, a breakdown of the detailed information requested in respect of the number of newly attested gardaí allocated to the Wicklow division, since the first attestation of trainee gardaí in April 2015 and the number of gardaí assigned to the Wicklow division on 30 September 2014 and 28 February 2017, the latest date for which figures are readily available.

Year	Personnel Strength	Number of newly attested Garda
2014	274	n/a
2015	282	9
2016	277	0
2017	275	0

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