Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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235. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to further recruit more Gardaí in view of public concerns about their safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2047/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Recruitment has commenced and new Garda trainees will enter the Garda College in the middle of this year, for the first time since 2009. Approximately 25,000 applications were received by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) through their website by the deadline of midnight 9th January.

My objective is to maintain current Garda strength at 13,000. The level of recruitment to the Garda Síochána will be determined, in consultation with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, by the target strength of the Garda Síochána and the rate of departures from the Force.

The situation in each area of the country is monitored on an ongoing basis by local Garda Management in the context of crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies to ensure optimum use is made of Garda resources and the best possible Garda service is provided to the public.