Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 191: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of gardaí who were on duty on the various shifts which covered 3 November 2005. [33637/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that the personnel strength of all ranks of the Garda Síochána as at 7 November 2005 was 12,312.

I have been further informed by the Garda authorities that due to the varied operational requirements of each Garda post throughout the country and the changing nature of operational deployments to meet varying operational needs, it is not possible to specify the total number of gardaí required to staff each Garda post. The Garda authorities have calculated that a personnel commitment of 5.17 gardaí is required to maintain a Garda presence at a post requiring 24 hour cover.

Garda management states that Garda personnel are deployed in a variety of shift patterns in order to maximise the available resources during the periods of highest demand. Management also states that the number of Garda personnel on duty on any given day can vary, from day to day and location to location, according to the exigencies of the service.