John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 184: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will lift the ban on public sector recruitment for Garda personnel in the interests of public safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9226/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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This Government is cognisant of the public's concern on the matter of crime and of the need to have adequate Garda resources in place. The staffing levels in An Garda Síochána remain at an extremely high level at circa 14,500 today in comparison to 12,300 in 2005. The Force has not been overly impacted upon by the moratorium on recruitment given that there were, and still are, student Gardaí in the system who were recruited and began training prior to the introduction of the moratorium last March. I am assured that Garda management are committed to the utilisation of these resources in the most efficient and effective manner to maintain public safety.