Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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74. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she supports the request by Greystones municipal district for an immediate increase in Garda resources in Greystones, County Wicklow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20025/16]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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77. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she supports the request by Wicklow Chamber of Commerce for an immediate increase in Garda resources in County Wicklow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20084/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 77 together.

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.

Greystones forms part of the Bray District which is within the Wicklow Garda Division. I am informed that the distribution of Gardaí throughout the Division on the 31 May 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was as set out in the following table.

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 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 71 will attest tomorrow, 7 July, with 150 more to attest in November. Of these, 10 newly attested members have been assigned to the Wicklow Garda Division.

The Programme for Government, "A Programme for a Partnership Government" commits tocontinuing 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.

WICKLOW GARDA DIVISION 31 May 2016