Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The distribution of Garda personnel is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. Notwithstanding the Commissioner's responsibility for the distribution of gardaí, I have provided a breakdown, in tabular form, of the detailed information requested by the Deputy. The Garda strength of the Roscommon-Longford division on 31 October 2017 was 309, of which ten were community gardaí. There are also nine Garda Reserve and 29 Garda civilian staff attached to the division. When appropriate, the work of local gardaí is supported by a number of Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the armed support unit, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised crime Bureau.

As the Deputy is aware, the Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country, including in Longford and Roscommon, in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance for citizens and deter crime.  To achieve this, the Government has put in place a plan for an overall Garda force of 21,000 personnel by 2021, comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, close to 1,400 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide. Of these, ten have been assigned to the Roscommon-Longford division.  I look forward to attending the graduation of another 200 trainee gardaí on Friday which will see Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, increase to around the 13,500 mark by year end, a net increase of 500 since this time last year.

I am also pleased that budget 2018 maintains this high level of investment in the Garda force and ensures the vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track. I acknowledge that the moratorium on recruitment introduced in 2010 resulted in a reduction to a significant degree in the strength of An Garda Síochána.  We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Garda Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of gardaí across every Garda division, including the Roscommon-Longford division, about which the Deputy is rightly concerned.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

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