Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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331. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on the report of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate that a significant number of administrative staff in Garda Síochána headquarters could be freed up for frontline duties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45885/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Report of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate "Changing Policing in Ireland - Delivering a Visible, Accessible and Responsive Service", which I published on 9 December, examines the operation and administration of An Garda Síochána and is one part of a review of An Garda Síochána required to be undertaken under the Haddington Road Agreement. The other part, which relates to the pay and conditions of members and appropriate industrial relations mechanisms, is ongoing under the stewardship of Mr Ray McGee, formerly of the Labour Relations Commission.

The report makes some 80 recommendations in relation to the structures of An Garda Síochána, its deployment practices, culture, human resources practices and financial management. Some of the recommendations are far-reaching and, if implemented, would involve a fundamental restructuring of An Garda Síochána across the country. It is, therefore, important that the full implications of the recommendations, and the analysis underpinning them, are considered in detail before any decisions are taken. With these considerations in mind, I have put in place a process to seek the views of the Garda Commissioner and other bodies to whom recommendations are directed and have requested them to respond within a reasonably short period of time, having regard to the size and scope of the report.

In relation to the particular matter raised by the Deputy, the report does suggest that there are a significant number of technical or administrative posts occupied by Gardaí that do not appear to require sworn powers, and that may provide good opportunities to increase the use of skilled civilians and release members for front-line roles. As recognised by the Inspectorate, however, achieving the optimum composition of the Garda workforce as between highly trained Gardaí and professional, skilled civilian staff and redeploying Garda members to front-line duties is a medium term project requiring very detailed analysis of the specific roles in An Garda Siochána in order to determine if they require Garda powers and if not, the mix of skills required by a civilian to fill the post instead. It is not the case that members can simply be redeployed overnight – it must be done in planned way with suitably qualified civilians recruited to replace them. In addition, there may be medical reasons arising from injuries received while serving on the front-line or other health reasons that might prevent a member being deployed to the front-line.

In saying that, I am keen that this work should progress as quickly as possible and my Department will continue to work with the Garda Commissioner and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in order to make progress in this area. As an example of what can be achieved, I would draw the Deputy's attention to the process which is currently ongoing to civilianise border control functions at Dublin airport and the transfer of these responsibilities from An Garda Síochána to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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332. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if the Garda Síochána Reserve can play a greater role in the provision of non-frontline support and administrative work for An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45886/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will appreciate the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel, including the Garda Reserve, 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 am informed by the Garda Commissioner that there are currently 978 Reserve members.

The Garda Reserve was established in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to enhance the links between An Garda Síochána and local communities and consists of voluntary unpaid members, drawn from the community, to support the work of An Garda Síochána. Reserve members make a real and tangible contribution to the policing of communities right across the country and I am fully supportive of the continued development of the Reserve.In particular, I welcome the recent conferring by the Commissioner of additional powers on reserve members under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 and also her decision that reserve members should carry out additional duties including the serving of summonses, and the issuing of Fixed Charged Penalty Notices where offences are detected.

The Report of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate "Changing Policing in Ireland - Delivering a visible, accessible and responsive service" which I published on 9 December makes a range of recommendations in relation to the effective use of human resources including reserve members, and recommends that An Garda Síochána develops a strategic plan for maximising the operational effectiveness and contribution of reserves. I have put in place a process to seek the views of the Garda Commissioner and other bodies to whom recommendations are directed and have requested them to respond within a reasonably short period of time, having regard to the size and scope of the report. Further work on optimising the use of the Reserve will be progressed in this context.

It is important, however, to recall that reserve members have undergone training in many of the skills required to be an effective full-time member of An Garda Síochána and are intended to serve on the front-line. Indeed I was very pleased that the recruitment campaign for 2016 for full-time members of the Service, which I announced recently, includes a special stream for eligible reserve members in order to ensure that due recognition is given to satisfactory service by such a member. The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is organising the recruitment competition on behalf of the Garda Commissioner and applications may be made through the PAS website at . The closing date for applications is Tuesday 5 January 2016. I would encourage all reserves who satisfy the eligibility criteria to apply.