Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

94. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda stations in the Galway division that have gardaí on rostered duty who do not have a Garda car assigned to them; the timeframe for when cars will be assigned to these stations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19277/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and Districts, and I as Minister have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keep this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources.

I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that on the 31 May 2016, the latest date for which figures are available there were 43 Garda stations and 562 Gardaí attached to the Galway Garda Division.

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. In a recovering economy, we were able to reopen the Garda College in September 2014, and a total of 851 Garda trainees have been recruited with a further 300 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 7 July 2016 with 150 more to attest in November. Of these, 5 new Garda members were assigned to the Galway Division.

The detailed distribution of members to the Galway Division is as follows:

GALWAY GARDA DIVISION 31 May 2016

GALWAY GARDA DIVISION 31 May 2016

The allocation of Garda vehicles is monitored and reviewed on a continual basis and vehicles are allocated between stations as required by operational circumstances including, for example, when vehicles are required in other stations to substitute for vehicles under repair. In that context I am advised by the Garda Authorities that the current strength of the Galway Divisional Fleet is set out as follows:

Galway Division Fleet - 30 June 2016

The Deputy will be aware that, in recent times, the Government has made considerable funding available to provide An Garda Síochána with additional high-powered vehicles, patrol cars (marked and unmarked) and motorcycles to ensure that Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive on the roads and in the community.

In summary, over €34 million has been invested in the fleet since 2012, with over 720 new vehicles coming on stream since the start of 2015, and a further €46 million is being provided under the Government's Capital Plan 2016 - 2021.