Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 34: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of non-Garda clerical staff employed by An Garda Síochána; the number placed in each Garda division; the stations that they are assigned to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41830/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am pleased to be able to continue to report significant progress with regard to the implementation of the programme of civilianisation in An Garda Síochána. A key success in the civilianisation process has been the establishment, of the Garda Information Service Centre (GISC) in Castlebar, which now has a staffing complement of 162 civilians and is servicing all Garda regions nationally.

The success of the incident reporting and data quality review facilities available at the GISC encouraged the Garda authorities to seek opportunities for the devolution of further tasks to the Centre. One such initiative involves the reporting of the outcome of court cases to the GISC, which allows Gardaí to remain operational following completion of their court attendances. The call-taking function of Garda Traffic Watch has already transferred from six Regional Garda Communication Centres to the GISC. Under a further initiative, the logging of driving licence and insurance particulars, a function formerly carried out by Gardaí and civilian personnel in the Fixed Charge Processing System, is now undertaken at the GISC. All of these initiatives are contributing significantly to the release of Garda resources for visible, frontline policing across our communities. It is proposed to carry out a review of the GISC in the summer of 2007 and the outcome of this evaluation will inform future projects.

A new Human Resources Division for civilian staff in An Garda Síochána has been established, which when fully operational will have a staffing complement of 37 civilians. Sanction has been granted by the Minister for Finance for an additional 76 civilian clerical and administrative posts to be located around the country on a regional and divisional basis. Recruitment to these posts will be progressed as soon as possible.

Under the Garda Síochána Act, the Commissioner became the Accounting Officer for An Garda Síochána in July of this year. This transfer of responsibility is being supported by the recruitment of nine civilian staff for a new Finance and Procurement Unit within An Garda Síochána.

Meanwhile, a Joint Implementation Group comprising management representatives from An Garda Síochána and my Department is continuing its work on civilianisation. Given that the 2001 Civilianisation Report was written at a particular point in time, the Group is taking account of changes which have occurred in the interim in the environment in which civilianisation is being pursued and exploring ways in which the civilianisation programme can be advanced in the short run, both in the context of the Civilianisation Report and otherwise. Significant progress is being made on recruitment to a range of key specialised civilian posts, including:

31 posts in the Garda Telecommunications area;

28 staff for the Professional Standards Unit, comprising statisticians, analysts and administrative staff;

10 posts in the new Internal Audit Unit;

14 additional teaching / training posts in the Garda College in Templemore; and

29 posts for the new civilian Crime Analysis Service.

The developments outlined above represent a major acceleration in the pace of civilianisation in An Garda Síochána. I remain committed to achieving the greatest level of civilianisation consistent with the effective and efficient functioning of An Garda Síochána and will continue to work with the Garda Commissioner to drive the civilianisation programme forward.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the number of non-Garda clerical staff employed by An Garda Síochána as of 30 November 2006 is 1,156. The number of non-Garda clerical staff placed in each Garda Division and the Stations that they are assigned to are set out in the table.