Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his proposals for further civilianisation of the Garda in order to free trained members for front line duty; his views on the view expressed in the final report of the advisory group on Garda management and leadership development that progress in regard to civilianisation has been risible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34534/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the reports of the Garda Inspectorate and the Advisory Group on Garda Management and Leadership Development on these issues. I fully support the Garda Commissioner in the continued implementation of the civilianisation programme proposed for the Garda Síochána and am happy to say that significant progress has been made to date in the recruitment of civilian staff by the Garda Commissioner.

I have been informed by the Commissioner that the number of full and part time civilian staff assigned to the Garda Síochána as at the 10 December 2007 was 2,276. Approximately 297 Clerical Officers have been recruited and assigned positions within the Garda Síochána since the 1 January 2007. These officers have been allocated to the Dublin Metropolitan Region, Garda Headquarters and Specialised Units.

A campaign to recruit a further 300 Clerical Officers for outside the Dublin Metropolitan area is well under way and interviews are currently being held by the Public Appointments Service. This will release trained members of the Force for front-line duty. To date, in excess of 30 additional Clerical Officers have been assigned to Garda stations outside Dublin, 12 additional Clerical Officers have been assigned to the Garda Central Vetting Unit, Thurles, and 25 additional Clerical Officers have been assigned to the Garda Information Services Centre, Castlebar.

The recruitment of civilian staff to middle and senior positions in the Garda Síochána is well under way. Appointments have been made to the positions of Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Finance, Director of Communications, Head of Internal Audit, HR Manager, Housing Officer and Transport Manager and a civilian at Principal Officer level has been appointed to the Information Technology section.

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. Other recruitment initiatives are under way. The position of Head of Procurement (AP) in An Garda Síochána has been advertised and applications are currently being considered. A competition to recruit 28 Crime & Policing Analysts was advertised on 29th November 2007. A Competition to recruit 3 Cartographers and 2 Photographers was advertised on 6th December, 2007. A competition to recruit additional Telecommunications Technicians was advertised on 6th December, 2007. An open competition to recruit a Professional Accountant Grade I and a Professional Accountant Grade II for Internal Audit Unit will take place soon and a variety of other posts will be advertised.

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, as I said, is supported by the analysis and recommendations of the Hayes Group and the Garda Inspectorate.