Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the minimum number of gardaí needed to maintain front-line policing services in each garda division. [17283/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Commissioner, with his senior managers and Divisional Officers, arranges for the allocation of Garda personnel throughout the State. Garda Management are aided in this by a distribution model known as the Garda Establishment Redistribution Model (G.E.R.M.).

The Commissioner advises me that the GERM model indicates the most effective means to distribute Garda personnel and acts as a guide to Garda management decision making. It takes into account many different policing variables including socio-economic factors, census information, crime trends and the minimum establishment required for each district. The allocation of Garda personnel is determined by these factors and also takes account of the policing requirements of each individual Division.