Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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7. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí in Ireland broken down per county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35719/22]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister lay out the number of members of An Garda Síochána currently serving in the State?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As of 31 May, there were 14,347 members of An Garda Síochána throughout the country. The Government has allocated An Garda Síochána an unprecedented budget of over €2 billion for 2022. This level of funding is enabling sustained ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff. As a result, the number of gardaí is now 14,347 and we have more than 3,100 Garda staff nationwide. The Deputy may be aware that there was a very strong interest in the recent Garda recruitment campaign, which only closed recently. Over 11,000 people applied to become a member. The recruitment process is continuing to identify candidates to enter the Garda College over the coming period. I acknowledge the significant increase in the numbers of women, those from minority communities and those not generally represented within An Garda Síochána applying to become members.

As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes responsibility for deployment in which, as Deputies will know, I have no role.

However, I am assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends to ensure their optimal use. I understand that it is a matter for divisional chief superintendents to determine the distribution of duties among the personnel available to them, having regard to the profile of each area within the division and its specific needs.

It is very welcome that 316 gardaí have come through Templemore this year. We will have 50 more this week. From September onwards, 200 recruits will be coming through Templemore every 12 weeks. That will only serve to increase our numbers and reach that target of more than 15,000. My preference is to continue with that and go even further, while also making sure we increase the number of civilian gardaí and continuing to increase the number of gardaí on the ground as our population increases.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful to the Minister for that update and the specific numbers in her response. I was very lucky to attend the centenary celebrations of An Garda Síochána in my local Garda station in Stepaside in the past few days. Having spoken with current and former members of An Garda Síochána who had been stationed at that station, as well as others, there are two issues they asked me to bring back to this Chamber. The first is the desire among serving gardaí to get out into communities and practise on-the-beat policing. That is not just the case in suburban stations such as Stepaside but in city centres such as Dublin, Cork, Galway or elsewhere. The second is the proposal to use civilian staff more efficiently in order that gardaí can spend more time on the street, in communities, liaising with schools, parents and everything else. We should allow the administrative burden to be taken on by those civilian staff. I appreciate that some of that is down to the deployment and action by the Commissioner. I ask the Minister to lay out how we can have those 15,000 gardaí on the beat as much as possible.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The way we will achieve this is through the roll-out of the new operating model. This new model has been proposed through the Commission on the Future of Policing and the subsequent implementation plan, which will result in the reduction of the number of districts. Most important, it will entail a merging of Garda members working in the back office, in the various finance and HR functions, allowing for more front-line gardaí. There are four key areas of finance, HR, crime and community engagement. Merging finance across two districts will allow for more gardaí to be out on the beat on the ground. In my county, Meath and Westmeath are merging, so finance will be based in one area. Every area will see that benefit and increase, with a focus on crime and on community engagement. Covid-19 has stopped progress being made as quickly as we would like but that background merging has still been happening. Cork is the only county that has introduced all four new models. It is happening bit by bit. Having spoken to the Garda Commissioner two weeks ago, the overall intention is that by the end of 2024, all new divisions will have all four operating models in place, which will mean more gardaí on the ground, on the beat, doing front-line duties.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that. While Covid got in the way of many of the operational aspects of reform, in many ways it also showed potential positives for an Garda Síochána, not just with on-the-beat policing but also with smart policing. We will hopefully have 15,000 gardaí in due course. Leading up to the budget discussion, will the Minister ensure those gardaí will have the necessary equipment and supports to carry out the role? I am thinking not just of the obvious such as cars and stab vests but also ICT equipment and modern technology because the face of crime is changing ever so rapidly.

One issue I was asked to bring to the Minister by serving members of An Garda Síochána, and I have no doubt she will have heard the same when she addressed the Garda Representative Association conference, is the ongoing debate about rostering. I appreciate the Minister has no role in this but it behoves me to let her know there is a mood and a desire within the organisation to ensure the best, most opportune rostering system is used.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I agree with my colleague that we need gardaí on the beat, out on the street and visible. A lot of them are tied up with paperwork and filing reports and so forth. What is the situation with respect to the other branch of the Garda that has not been mentioned, namely, the Garda Reserve? I understand there are moves afoot to recruit members to it. What are the plans there and when will there be progress in that area?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My intention is to get as much funding and resources as possible for An Garda Síochána in this year's budget. The €2 billion in last year's budget was the largest budget we have ever had, building on significant increases in previous years. An element of that will go towards pay and other areas of current spending. It is important that we invest not just in the physical infrastructure of cars and equipment but in other areas like body-worn cameras. Deputy Richmond has been pushing for and supports the introduction of legislation in that regard. We gave a commitment as part of the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence strategy, announced last week, that €12 million would be allocated for the roll-out of body-worn cameras. That is to help gardaí in their work fighting crime but also to make sure they are protected and kept safe. There will be a particular focus on capital spend, which is a once-off spend. There will be a specific budget for that this year and into next year but we will also be looking at ways to spend that on an annual basis and building on that. The roll-out of the new Garda uniforms will be very welcome. This is the third time in the history of the Garda there has been a change in uniform and it will show the new vibrant policing system.

The issue of the roster has been brought to my attention. I fully understand and appreciate how well the system has worked for many members. This is something the Garda Commissioner is working through with the various groups. I have every confidence that this will be resolved with those he is in final engagement with at the moment.

The Commissioner is also working on a new plan to increase and support the Garda Reserve. That will require a budget so that is something we will look at in the upcoming budget as well. I hope he will be able to publish the plan soon.