Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which sufficient Garda resources remain available in both urban and rural areas to combat the activities of criminal gangs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11896/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, throughout the organisation and I have no direct function in the matter. This allocation of resources is constantly monitored in the context of demographics, crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies in place on a District, Divisional and Regional level to ensure optimum use is made of Garda resources and the best possible Garda service is provided to the public. The Garda budget for 2013 is €1.412 billion which is a significant amount of money despite the financial constraints under which we operate.

In relation to Garda numbers, these have been reducing due to the moratorium on recruitment introduced by the previous Government and the current strength is just under 13,400. My objective, despite the enormous financial issues facing the Government, is to ensure that Garda numbers will not fall below 13,000 and I will be bringing relevant proposals to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

Operation Fiacla was set up by the Garda Commissioner and is particularly focused on identifying and targeting mobile gangs involved in burglaries around the country. In the period to the end of February 2013 it resulted in 4,226 persons being arrested and 2,327 persons being charged. In addition, the latest quarterly figures for burglary suggest that Operation Fiacla is having an impact, when compared with the quarterly figures prior to its introduction. Indeed the most recent crime figures show that the number of aggravated burglaries is down when compared with the previous 12 months. The Commissioner has made it clear that where resources are needed to combat serious and organised crime, those resources will be made available.