Dáil debates

Wednesday, 29 May 2019

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Garda Resources

2:35 pm

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Curran for raising this issue.

Firstly, I reiterate for the House that the deployment of Garda resources is solely the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner and his management team. The distribution of Garda resources is constantly monitored taking into account all relevant and appropriate factors, including population and new and emerging crime trends.

Working with communities to tackle public disorder and reduce anti-social behaviour remains a key priority for the Garda Síochána. The Garda Commissioner has publicly spoken about issues such as protecting our most vulnerable and he has highlighted that his priority is a policing model that will provide the best outcomes for communities. This approach includes a strong focus on quality of life issues and collaboration with local authorities to help address the causes of anti-social behaviour.

With the accelerated recruitment of Garda members continuing this year, it provides the Commissioner with the ability to increase Garda numbers and visibility in all Garda divisions, including the DMR west division. Rathcoole Garda station forms part of the Clondalkin district in the Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, West Division. The Garda strength of the DMR west division, as of 30 April last, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 715, of whom 200 are assigned to the Clondalkin district and 14 are assigned to Rathcoole Garda station. There are also 23 Garda Reserves and 63 Garda civilian staff attached to the DMR west division. It is envisaged that the DMR west Garda division will receive further allocations of probationer gardaí from the Garda College this year.

There is also provision for uniform and plain-clothes patrols within the district to support Garda operations, and support provided by divisional units, such as the divisional and district drugs units, roads policing personnel and community engagement personnel. Where appropriate, local gardaí are supported by a number of Garda national units, such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the armed support units, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, which also have had an increase in resources this year.

Additional recruitment of Garda staff will allow the Commissioner to redeploy a further 500 fully-trained gardaí from administrative duties to front-line policing over the course of this year. The injection of this large number of experienced officers into the field, along with the new recruits, will provide the Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of gardaí to deliver, as Deputy Curran said, a visible effective and responsive policing service to communities in all divisions, including the DMR west division.

The Government has increased the budget for An Garda Síochána to €1.76 billion for 2019 in addition to a very significant capital investment, which includes €342 million for Garda ICT infrastructure between 2016 and 2021 to enable An Garda Síochána to deploy the latest cutting-edge technologies and €46 million for the Garda fleet. As of 30 April, there were 75 Garda vehicles assigned to the DMR west division.

While An Garda Síochána will continue to tackle anti-social problems head-on, it cannot eradicate the problem of anti-social behaviour alone. Specifically in relation to young offenders, it is also up to us as adults, particularly the parents and guardians, to ensure that children are raised to be respectful and law-abiding.

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