Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 191: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will order an independent review of the allocation of gardaí here in view of the disparity between the numbers in some divisional areas, including the fact that Kildare has one garda for every 580 people, Roscommon and Longford has one garda for every 312 people, Cavan and Monaghan has one garda for every 287 people and Clare has one garda for every 330 people. [2776/10]

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 is aided in this by a distribution model known as the Garda Establishment Redistribution Model (GERM).

I am advised by the Commissioner that this 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 crime trends, socio-economic factors, and census information. The allocation of Garda personnel is determined by these factors and also takes account of the policing requirements of each individual Division.