Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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33. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí in each Garda station in counties Cavan and Monaghan as of 30 June 2017; and the number of new recruits assigned to the division since recruitment resumed in 2014. [32868/17]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I seek the assistance of the Minister in ensuring additional Garda recruitment for the Cavan-Monaghan division. Unfortunately, since 2010 our division suffered one of the highest reductions in Garda force numbers. In County Cavan the force has been reduced by almost 20% and there has been a 28% reduction in County Monaghan. I appeal to the Minister to ensure that in the allocation of new recruits, particular consideration is given to the requests from the Cavan-Monaghan division for additional personnel.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. To make that 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 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians.

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. Last Thursday a class of 198 Garda trainees attested as members of An Garda Síochána - the largest class to attest since the Garda College reopened in September 2014. That brings the number of new recruits who have attested since the college reopened to almost 1,200, with another 400 scheduled to attest later this year. That will bring Garda numbers to 13,500 by the end of this year. Once projected retirements are taken into account, that is an increase of 500 over last year. That is real progress on reaching our target of 15,000 members by 2021. This focus on investment in personnel is critical. The investment in personnel is complemented by substantial investment in resources across the board for An Garda Síochána. Deputy Brendan Smith will be aware of the significant resources that have been made available to An Garda Síochána under the Government's Capital Plan 2016-2021. In particular, some €205 million in additional funding for Garda ICT and €46 million for new Garda vehicles has been allocated over the lifetime of the plan. This investment will facilitate the provision of more effective policing services and I have no doubt that the new resources now coming on stream will see an increase in Garda visibility in Cavan and Monaghan and across other communities.

As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources. She is mindful of the point raised by the Deputy. Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review. I am informed by the Commissioner that 26newly-attested gardaí have been assigned to the Cavan-Monaghan division since the college reopened.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. At a recent meeting of the County Cavan joint policing committee, under questioning from other members and I, Chief Superintendent Mangan indicated that he needed at least 30 new recruits. The force's strength in Cavan-Monaghan is approximately 330. As I said earlier, that division has had the highest reduction in Garda numbers in the country during the period in question. We also lost nine Garda stations. My colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, referred earlier to the problems associated with rural crime and the targeting of rural families and the farming community in particular. We have particular difficulties in the Cavan-Monaghan division in that we have a land border with a different jurisdiction, which touches on the Northern counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh. That is a long frontier to be policed. As we know, a border with another jurisdiction puts extra pressure on policing resources. I am aware that the chief superintendent has been seeking additional resources through the assistant commissioner in charge of human resources in An Garda Síochána, as well as with the Commissioner. I appeal to the Minister, in view of the particular circumstances that face us in the Border area, that particular consideration be given to providing us with a decent allocation when the next recruits graduate and are assigned to their posts.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I take the point the Deputy makes regarding the Border area. It is an issue that is also under consideration by the Garda authorities. The table included with my reply sets out the situation regarding gardaí in the Cavan-Monaghan division as of 31 May 2017. Deputy Brendan Smith will be aware that Ballyconnell in his own original area has 18 gardaí. Belturbet has five , Blacklion has three, and Cavan town 66. There are 75 gardaí in the very busy station in Monaghan town and there are some officers in Clones also.

As well as Garda numbers, I draw the Deputy's attention to the importance of operation Thor, which is a sustained drive against property crime and burglary in rural areas. There are also further initiatives involving community activity, for which there are some rather modest grant schemes available from my Department. I urge Deputy Brendan Smith to consider them also.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister may recall that in the previous Dáil I put forward legislation advocating the establishment of a cross-Border crime agency to deal with the smuggling of illicit fuel and tobacco products in particular. I commend the Minister's contribution to having some of those measures implemented in the Fresh Start deal agreed at Stormont. An agency was put in place. Illicit trade has not gone away, however, and is starting to appear again. It poses a danger to legitimate business, consumers, the environment and our Exchequer. That is just one issue with which gardaí in Cavan-Monaghan and Border divisions have to cope which is not as prevalent further to the south.

In view of the particular needs of a Border Garda division, particular attention should be given in the allocation of resources. I hope the Minister will give me a commitment that he will speak to the Garda Commissioner about the needs of the Cavan-Monaghan division.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has raised a point of importance. We had the opportunity to engage in some debate on it in my previous capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, when Deputy Brendan Smith was foreign affairs spokesman and, more recently, in his capacity as Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. This is an issue in terms of cross-Border crime, the matter of smuggling, racketeering and all sorts of criminal activity, including environmental crime. It was the subject of a discussion I had this very morning with the Garda Commissioner. The Commissioner assured me that co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland is at its highest ever. Of course, I am keen that this co-operation would continue. It is producing the type of dividend that I know Deputy Brendan Smith would like to see along the Border, particularly in his own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan.

One consequence of the failure to reach agreement on the matter of the Northern talks is that we are unable to have a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council. I am unable to liaise with a counterpart Minister in Northern Ireland because of the absence of a working Executive there. I assure the Deputy that I will continue to raise issues of Border crime and cross-Border crime with the Garda Commissioner and, indeed, at every level.