Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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380. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will outline what steps are being taken to provide additional Garda Síochána manpower in Counties Longford and Westmeath; if she will ensure that some of the additional personnel are allocated to rural areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33170/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of resources.

I have been informed that, as of the 31 July 2015 the latest date for which figures are readily available, in respect of County Longford, there are 118 members of An Garda Síochána attached to the Districts of Granard and Longford. On the same date, there were 241 members attached to the Westmeath Division. The work of these Gardaí is supported by 29 Garda Reserve members and 31 civilian staff.

This Government is committed to the ongoing recruitment of trainee Gardaí, and to this end the first intake since 2009 of new recruits commenced training at the Garda College, Templemore, in September of last year. To date there has been four intakes of Garda Trainees into the Garda College, giving a total intake of 400. A further 150 recruits will enter college by year end, bringing total recruitment of Garda Trainees to 550. So far 290 of the new Garda Trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána. On attestation, new Probationer Gardaí are assigned to Garda stations throughout the country by the Garda Commissioner, where they are assigned to mainstream uniform policing duties. I am assured by Garda management that the needs of all Garda Divisions, including those providing a policing service to rural areas, are fully considered when determining the allocation of newly attested Gardaí.

In addition, €700,000 has been allocated for new specialised vehicles to support Gardaí in responding to current and emerging crime threats, including burglaries committed by highly-mobile gangs. In fact this Government has invested nearly €29 million in new Garda vehicles since 2012, with 370 new vehicles coming on stream so far this year. I expect that the Capital Expenditure Programme 2016-2021 which will be announced later today will make provision for further substantial investment in Garda resources.