Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 115: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the Final Report of the Advisory Group on Garda Management and Leadership Development; his further views on the recommendations of the report, including the proposal of a greater civilian role in the running of the force; if a timetable has been set for the implementation of the recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27370/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The interim and final reports of the Advisory Group on Garda Management and Leadership Development contain many excellent recommendations on how management of the force can be further improved. Significant progress has been made on the issues raised in the reports.

The civilianisation of middle and senior positions in the Garda Síochána has commenced. Currently, there is a Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Finance, Head of Internal Audit, HR Manager, Housing Officer, Transport Manager and a civilian of Principal Officer grade in the Information Technology section. A civilian Director of Communications has recently taken up her post. Recruitment for the following positions will start shortly: — Director of Information and Communications Technology, Director of Change Management, Head of Legal Affairs and Executive Director of Human Resources. This will be in addition to the recruitment of a number of civilian crime analysts.

The number of full time and part time civilian staff assigned to the Garda Síochána as at the 2nd November 2007 was 2,267. Approximately 284 Clerical Officers have been recruited and assigned positions within An Garda Síochána since 1 January 2007. These have been allocated to the Dublin Metropolitan Region, Garda Headquarters and Specialised Units.

A campaign to recruit a further 300 civilians which will release trained members of the Force for front-line duty is well under way and interviews are currently being held by the Public Appointments Service to recruit these Clerical Officers. These persons will be allocated to Divisions outside the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

A dedicated Human Resource Directorate has been established in the Garda Síochána to serve the needs of the civilian, administrative, professional, technical and industrial staff in the Garda Síochána and to promote an extensive programme of civilianisation.

I am assured by the Commissioner that the Garda Síochána is committed to developing the civilian support function within the Garda Síochána to the level of best international practice and that he will continue to work to drive the civilianisation programme forward. I will fully support the Garda Commissioner in the continued implementation of organisational reform which is supported by the analysis and recommendations of the Hayes Group.