John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 507: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of Gardaí on the beat at weekends in Exchequer Street, Dublin 2 and the surrounding streets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20559/06]

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 (all ranks) of An 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.

I have been further informed that the personnel strength (all ranks) of Pearse Street Garda Station, which patrols the Exchequer Street area, as at 31 December, 1997 and 29 May, 2006 was 231 and 248, respectively. This represents an increase of 17 (or 7%) in the number of Garda personnel assigned to Pearse Street Garda Station during that period. Garda management state that for security and operational reasons it is not Garda policy to disclose the number of personnel on duty in any specific area at any given time.

I should add that the current recruitment drive to increase the strength of the Garda Síochána to 14,000 members, in line with the commitment in the 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. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that 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 do so every 90 days thereafter. 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 the Dublin 2 area will be given the fullest consideration.