David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, who sends his apologies, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I remind the House that, by law, the deployment of Garda resources is solely the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner and his management team. The Minister is assured, however, that the distribution of Garda resources is constantly monitored, taking into account all relevant factors, including population, as the Deputy outlined, and new and emerging crime trends.

The Minister emphasises that working with communities to tackle public disorder and reduce anti-social behaviour remains a key priority for the Garda. The Garda Commissioner has publicly spoken about the protection of the most vulnerable and 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.

The Deputy specifically mentioned County Kildare. The Minister is informed by the Garda authorities that, as of 31 August 2019, there were 393 gardaí assigned to the Kildare division. This represents a 9.2% increase on Garda resources allocated to this division since the end of 2017. There are also 17 Garda reserves and 35 Garda civilian staff attached to the Kildare division as of 31 August.

An Garda Síochána is a growing organisation. Since the reopening of the Garda College in 2014, approximately 2,800 new gardaí have attested and been assigned to mainstream policing duties around the country. Of these, 118 have been assigned to the Kildare division and 200 more gardaí are due to attest before the end of the year. At the same time, record levels of recruitment of Garda staff is allowing for the redeployment of gardaí to operational policing duties. As a result, there are now more than 14,200 gardaí nationwide, supported by more than 2,600 staff. This level of accelerated recruitment ensures that the Government's plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, including 15,000 gardaí, remains on track. Additional recruitment of Garda staff will allow the Garda Commissioner to redeploy a further 500 fully trained gardaí from administrative duties to front-line policing in 2019. The Minister is of the view that 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 a visible, effective and responsive policing service to communities across all Garda divisions, including the Kildare division.

The ongoing process of Garda reform will also assist through efficiencies in a range of areas, including ongoing civilianisation, examination of non-core duties and reform of Garda structures. In practical terms, this will mean less duplication and bureaucracy at senior levels, more gardaí on the ground and chief superintendents with greater decision-making power in their divisions. It will also include a strengthened focus on community engagement. These positive developments are underpinned by unprecedented Government investment in An Garda Síochána, amounting to a budget of €1.76 billion for 2019, as well as €92 million capital investment this year. In addition, a total of €10 million has been made available for the purchase and fit-out of Garda vehicles in 2019. The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities that this allocation will be used for purchase and fit-out of more than 300 new vehicles for operational use this year. As of 30 August, a total of 56 vehicles were allocated to Kildare, the division about which the Deputy inquired specifically. The Minister hopes that this information is of reassurance to the Deputy.

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