Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The distribution of Garda personnel, including the allocation of newly attested gardaí, is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner.

I am informed by the acting Garda Commissioner that, as of 30 April 2018, the most recent date for which figures are available, the strength of the Donegal division was 394. When appropriate, the work of local gardaí is supported by a number of Garda national units, namely, the national bureau of criminal investigation, the armed support unit, the national economic crime bureau and the national drugs and organised crime bureau.

I assure the Deputy that the 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 to deter crime. To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, including 15,000 Garda members.

The Deputy will be aware that in 2010 a previous Government closed the Garda College at Templemore and imposed a moratorium. The measures imposed at that time had a negative impact on Garda numbers across all divisions and the legacy of these decisions continues to have consequences for policing. When it had brought about an early exit from the bailout and stabilised the public finances in September 2014, the then Government reopened the college. Since then, just under 1,800 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and are performing mainstream duties nationwide. A total of 32 of these officers have been assigned to the Donegal division.

I am pleased that funding is in place to maintain this high level of investment in the Garda workforce to ensure that the vision of an overall complement of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track.

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