Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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88. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to replace the 140 members of An Garda Síochána who were not replaced in Dublin north inner city in recent years. [14314/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that the allocation of Gardaí is continually monitored and reviewed taking into account all relevant factors including crime trends, demographics, and security assessments relating to the area in question so as to ensure optimal use is made of Garda human resources.

The area mentioned by the Deputy is patrolled by members assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North Central Division. I have been informed that the number of Gardaí assigned to the DMR North Central Division on the 31 March 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 598. Of these, 251 members were assigned to Store Street, 161 in Bridewell and 186 in Mountjoy. The reduction in numbers cited by the Deputy relates to the period since September 2009 at which time 730 members were assigned to the Division concerned.

As the Deputy will be aware, when the financial crisis hit, the Government of the time introduced a moratorium on recruitment and the four year National Recovery Plan, published in 2010, envisaged a steady reduction in Garda numbers. Thankfully, in a recovering economy, we were able to reopen the Garda College in September 2014, and a total of 700 Garda trainees have been recruited with a further 450 planned to be recruited during the remainder of this year. So far 463 of the new Garda trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide. Another 76 will attest on the 7 July with 150 more to attest in November. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that 38 newly attested Gardaí have been assigned to the DMR North Central Garda Division to date.

This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. Key to achieving this goal is the commitment in the Programme for Government, "A Programme for a Partnership Government" to continue the ongoing accelerated Garda recruitment programme with a view to increasing Garda numbers to 15,000. Taking account of projected retirements, the current rate of recruitment will bring Garda numbers to around the 13,000 mark this year. We must, I believe, endeavour to make more rapid progress than this to reach our target of 15,000 and I am engaging with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in relation to increasing the planned annual intake this year and in coming years.

In relation to DMR North Central it is important to note that the work of local Gardaí is augmented when necessary by a number of Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). In addition, at the request of the Commissioner earlier this year, the Government moved decisively to strengthen Garda resources to deal with gang-related crime in the Dublin area. Funding was approved for the establishment of a dedicated Armed Support Unit for the Dublin Metropolitan Region given the identified need to enhance armed support capability in Dublin and to free up the resources of the Emergency Response Unit. The Dublin Armed Support Unit is, as a matter of priority, in the process of being set up and trained and I understand that it will have a complement of some fifty-five Garda members. Steps are also being taken to ensure that the Unit is fully equipped and to upgrade the equipment available to the Emergency Response Unit and the Special Detective Unit.

As the Deputy will be aware, after discussions with my Government colleagues, on Tuesday 31 May I announced a range of additional measures to tackle organised crime including the strengthening of the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau, new legislation to target proceeds of crime and the setting up of a new Special Crime Taskforce that will focus relentlessly on persons involved in gangland activities. I am also meeting with counterparts from Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain this week to discuss the transnational dimension to this organised criminal activity.

The Government has consistently made clear that we would fund whatever measures were needed for An Garda Síochána to best tackle the critical and unprecedented challenges they currently face. In this regard I was pleased to announce today that I have secured Government approval for substantial additional funding to be provided to An Garda Síochána. An additional allocation of €55 million will be made available for the remainder of 2016 including €5 million previously announced in February. These additional monies are made available based on information from Garda management regarding the level of funding required to maintain the necessary policing response to the current situation on an ongoing basis including concentrated policing targeting gang related crime.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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89. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to ensure that recruitment to An Garda Síochana matches the pace of retirement. [14315/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. Key to achieving this goal is the commitment in the Programme for Government, "A Programme for a Partnership Government" to continue the ongoing accelerated Garda recruitment programme with a view to increasing Garda numbers to 15,000.

As the Deputy will be aware, when the financial crisis hit, the Government of the time introduced a moratorium on recruitment and the four year National Recovery Plan, published in 2010, envisaged a steady reduction in Garda numbers. Thankfully, in a recovering economy, we were able to reopen the Garda College in September 2014. Since then a total of 700 Garda trainees have been recruited with a further 450 planned to be recruited during the remainder of this year. So far 463 of the new Garda trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide. Another 76 will attest on the 7 July with a further 150 to attest by the end of this year.

I can assure the Deputy that projected departures from An Garda Síochána are kept under continuing review and the level of recruitment adjusted as necessary in order to achieve the desired strength of An Garda Síochána. I am advised, based on a thorough analysis of the data, that the Garda authorities project retirements overall this year to be around the 300 mark with similar projections for the coming years. Taking account of the projected retirements for this year and the number of new recruits who will attest I expect Garda numbers to reach the 13,000 mark by the end of this year. We must, I believe, endeavour to make more rapid progress than this to reach our target of 15,000 and I am engaging with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in relation to increasing the planned annual intake this year and in coming years.