John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

50. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if the target of 15,000 gardaí, as outlined in the programme for Government, includes Garda reserves or is it exclusive of Garda reserve numbers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23766/16]

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

The commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government to continue the ongoing accelerated Garda recruitment programme with a view to increasing Garda numbers to reach 15,000 refers to full members of An Garda Síochána. The Programme includes a separate commitment to double the Garda Reserve to act in a supportive role undertaking local patrols and crime reduction measures.

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 350 planned to be recruited during the remainder of this year. So far 534 of the new Garda trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide with another 150 more planned to attest in November.

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 in coming years.

In accelerating recruitment it is, of course, essential to ensure that An Garda Síochána has the capacity to train larger numbers without any diminution in the quality of its training programme, and to provide appropriate supervision and support to newly qualified Gardaí and, indeed, Reserves to ensure that victims, and the public generally, are well served by their policing service. My officials are engaging with Garda management as a matter of priority in relation to the preparation of recruitment plans for the next five years that will deliver increased numbers of Gardaí and Reserves without any compromise on the quality of those recruited or the training programme.