Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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304. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when the recruitment of new gardaí will begin; if he will encourage the Garda Commissioner to distribute more recruits to counties such as Kildare with poor ratios of population to Garda resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47747/13]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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305. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the difficulties in redistributing gardaí between stations; the difficulties in redistributing gardaí between counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47748/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 304 and 305 together.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts, the various Garda national units and of course Garda Headquarters. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I recently announced that a recruitment competition for An Garda Síochána is to commence shortly and it is expected that the first batch of new recruits will enter the Garda college in mid-2014. There are a number of procedural issues that need to be finalised prior to the formal commencement of that competition and these are expected to conclude in the coming weeks. A further announcement will be issued as soon as recruitment starts, both on the Public Appointments Service website and directly to those who have registered an expression of interest in joining the Garda Síochána.