Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 690: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the targets being set for the planned rapid improvement of the ratio of civilian staff to Garda officers across the organisation. [17370/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have been informed by the Garda authorities that the number of full and part-time civilian staff assigned to An Garda Síochána is currently 2,140. In December 2006, approval was received to recruit 300 additional Clerical Officers for the Dublin Metropolitan Region of An Garda Síochána and as of 25 June 2007, 185 of these have been appointed. The recruitment of the remainder is currently under way. In addition to this, in May 2007, approval was given for the recruitment of an additional 300 civilians to be deployed in Garda Stations outside the Dublin Metropolitan Region. The recruitment campaign to fill these positions is currently underway by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Garda Commissioner.

I have been informed by Garda Management that the following are some of the continuing additional significant developments in enhancing civilian support in An Garda Síochána.

A new dedicated Human Resource Directorate has been established to manage the growing numbers of administrative and technical staff. This Directorate will have a total staff allocation of 37.

The Garda Information Service Centre (GISC) in Castlebar is now fully operational with a staffing complement of 162 civilians. Additional civilian staff are currently being recruited to bring the staff complement up to 190.

An Garda Síochána will be recruiting an additional 40 staff to the Garda Central Vetting Unit in Thurles, bringing the total staff number, all grades, up to 75 staff.

The appointment of Senior and Higher Crime and Policing Analysts will take place on 1 August 2007, as the first step in the development of the new Crime Analysis Service.

31 new civilian posts in the Garda Telecommunications area are currently being filled.

Sanction has been granted for an additional 76 civilian middle management clerical and administrative posts to be located around the country on a Regional and Divisional basis. Recruitment for these posts is currently underway.

The Commissioner is in the process of recruiting a new civilian Chief Administrative Officer at a grade equivalent to Deputy Commissioner, and a civilian Director of Communications is also being recruited.

The Commissioner will also be recruiting civilian Directors in areas such as Human Resources, Information Communications Technology, Change Management and Head of Legal Affairs.

Approval has been received for the appointment of a new Head of Procurement for An Garda Síochána and a Multi-Media Technician to work in the Garda Press and Public Relations Office.

An Garda Síochána is committed to achieving the greatest level of civilianisation consistent with the effective and efficient functioning of An Garda Síochána and will continue to work to drive the civilianisation programme forward.