Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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7. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of the new Garda recruits assigned to the Wicklow Garda division in each year since Garda recruitment resumed in 2014; and the attested personnel strength of the Wicklow Garda division in September 2014 and at the end of February 2017. [15758/17]

Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Wicklow has seen a decrease of over 15% in the number of gardaí in its district. Perhaps the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality will indicate the number of new Garda recruits assigned to the Wicklow division in each of the years since Garda recruitment resumed in 2014, and the certified personnel strength of the Wicklow division in September 2014 and at the end of February 2017.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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They are very law-abiding citizens I assume in County Wicklow?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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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.

Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for her answer. I appreciate the situation we are in but out of the 277 gardaí we have in the Wicklow division at the moment, some 28 could retire tomorrow morning if they so wished. This would put huge pressure on the system. Equally, of the nine new recruits we did get into the area, three have since retired and have moved on. Wicklow has seen a 63% decrease in its drug squad and we have seen a 28% decrease in community gardaí. The Garda reserves numbers for the county have seen a 43% decrease. This all has a significant effect on the ground especially around the operation of our towns where a Garda presence is not there. I am looking for more assurance from the Tánaiste that Wicklow will get its fair share of the Garda recruits as they are coming out in the future.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Casey makes the case for County Wicklow and of course other Deputies here would make the case for their areas. I recognise that more gardaí are needed right across State. This is why we have the recruitment programme. It is not going to happen overnight. The Garda Commissioner makes the decision and it is a completely independent operational decision. The Department of Justice and Equality has absolutely no role in the decision, nor do individual Deputies. The Garda Commissioner must examine precisely what the requirements are in different areas and, on the basis of priority needs around State, she must make that allocation. I have no doubt that almost every area would like to have, and perhaps could do with, more gardaí. It is, however, the Garda Commissioner’s decision to make based on what is known to her and upon assessment of the different areas.

I can confirm to Deputy Casey that a review is envisaged under the programme for Government and the Garda Síochána Inspectorate – at the request of the Policing Authority – is carrying out a review of the dispersal and use of resources available to An Garda Síochána. A very important part of that review is that all data will be available and that there is an IT system to map out exactly where gardaí are working at any particular time, the resources available and how those resources are being used, and a more efficient and modern means of communication between gardaí so that they can get the data back very quickly as is done in other jurisdictions.

Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste but to be fair with regard to Wicklow’s case, neighbouring County Kildare got 14 new recruits during the same period, and Laois and Offaly got 41 new recruits. There is a discrepancy there that needs to be looked into. All I am asking for is that Wicklow gets its fair share. While I have the Tánaiste’s attention there is a vacant Garda station in Ashford that needs renovation and which went on fire on Sunday night.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I will ask Shane Ross.

Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I would appreciate it if the Minister could look into that issue also.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Casey makes the case for Wicklow very well. Obviously, I will follow that issue up and I will communicate with him directly on the last issue he raised. I have no doubt that the police force in his area will make headquarters aware of the need for the area. The Garda Commissioner has to examine the different needs in different areas. We have to become more flexible about the allocation of gardaí from different parts of the country. There are areas of high need such as those in urban areas - and we know there are also issues in rural areas - but the allocation must be made on a proper assessment of the needs of a given area. This is why we asked the Garda Inspectorate to look at that issue also. In the meantime, on a day-to-day basis, the Garda Commissioner has to get on with making decisions about where recruits are most needed when they first come out and where they would be best positioned. I take the points made by Deputy Casey.