Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he is satisfied that sufficient personnel are available in the Border region to retain adequate surveillance against ongoing crime in view of the fact that all the smaller Garda stations are closed at night entailing long journeys for individual squad cars with many of the personnel having limited on the ground knowledge of the areas they have to service; his views on whether the present system makes the situation much easier for the criminals to act as they can be aware where the limited number of patrol cars are at any given time and act accordingly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15021/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I have been informed by the Garda authorities that the personnel strength, all ranks, of the Garda Síochána as at 31 March 2006 was 12,439. This compares with a total strength of 10,702, all ranks, as at 30 June 1997 and represents an increase of 1,737, or 16.2%, in the personnel strength of the force during that period.

It is the responsibility of Garda management to allocate personnel across and within divisions on a priority basis in accordance with the requirements of different areas. The allocation of such resources is determined by a number of factors including demographics, crime trends, administrative functions and other operational policing needs. Garda resources assigned to the Border areas, together with overall policing arrangements and operational strategy, are continually monitored and reviewed. Such monitoring ensures that the best possible use is made of existing Garda resources, and that the best possible service is provided to the public.

In this regard, I am advised by the Garda authorities that local Garda management along the Border is satisfied that sufficient resources are available to address criminal activity in these regions. It should be noted that the necessity for a disproportionately large Garda presence in the Border counties has significantly diminished since the Good Friday Agreement.

Each division's resources are augmented by the deployment of divisional and national specialist units such as the divisional drugs and crime units, the Garda National Immigration Bureau, GNIB, and the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB. In each division crime trends are continually being analysed. Any crime hotspots are identified and resources allocated and deployed accordingly.

As regards cross-Border co-operation in tackling crime, local Garda management is committed to the investigation and detection of local crimes and work in partnership with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to identify perpetrators living outside the jurisdiction. These close working relationships have delivered results, with some persons currently before the courts awaiting trial.

Two specific operations have been introduced in 2006 as part of Garda strategies to prevent crime in Border areas. Operation Cougar is a joint operation with the PSNI and was introduced in an effort to curb a number of serious crime incidents which have a cross-Border dimension and operates in the Garda Donegal division. The operation includes simultaneous checkpoints on both sides of the Border and enhanced communications between units on the ground. In addition, there is good co-operation with the PSNI at local level with monthly crime meetings being held on both sides of the Border. In addition, Operation Anvil, which has been extended nationwide, involves specific crime patrols of Border areas.

In response to the changing policing needs of the areas concerned, smaller stations along the Border are not open on a 24 hour basis. These adjustments in opening times release valuable resources to allow additional patrolling within the Garda districts along the Border. The members attached to those stations carry out patrols and checkpoints on a 24 hour basis in each district, thus ensuring availability and presence of gardaí at all times.

The current recruitment drive to increase the strength of the Garda Síochána to 14,000 members in line with the commitment in An Agreed Programme for Government is fully on target. This will lead to a combined strength, of both attested gardaí and recruits in training, of 14,000 by the end of this year. The first group of newly attested gardaí under the accelerated recruitment programme came on stream in March and a further 275 newly attested gardaí will come on stream every 90 days from here on in.

The Garda Commissioner will now be drawing up plans on how best to distribute and manage these additional resources, and in this context the needs of Border areas will be given the fullest consideration.