Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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182. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of the 3,200 new members of An Garda Síochána to be recruited on a phased basis over the next four years that will be recruited in 2017; the expected cost of the 2017 recruitment in 2017; and the full year cost of same. [26201/16]

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 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, reaching a strength of 15,000 will require some 3,200 new Garda members to be recruited on a phased basis over the next four years in addition to the 1,200 that will have been recruited by the end of this year since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014. So far 534 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide.

While the Estimates campaign has yet to be concluded, it is my strongly held view that 800 Gardaí should be recruited next year and in each subsequent year until the 15,000 level is reached and I will be working with my colleagues in Government to achieve this. The full year cost for the recruitment of 800 Gardaí in 2017, is approximately €17.4 million, the actual costs will be determined by the intake sizes and the commencements dates in the Garda College in 2017.

In order to continue to ensure seamless ongoing recruitment I was very pleased to announce the commencement of a new recruitment campaign on 8 September. The campaign is being organised by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Garda Commissioner. Applications must be made through www.publicjobs.iebefore the closing date for applications on 29 September 2016. The existing recruitment campaign (launched last November) is ongoing and successful candidates will continue to be called from that campaign this year and into next year. It is expected that successful candidates from the new campaign will enter the Garda College from mid-2017.

As I have stated previously, when accelerating recruitment it is essential to ensure that An Garda Síochána has the capacity to train larger numbers without any diminution in the quality of its excellent Bachelor of Arts in Applied Policing, and to provide appropriate supervision and support to newly qualified Gardaí 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 a recruitment plan for the next five years that will ensure the delivery of increased numbers of Gardaí without any compromise on the quality of those recruited or the training programme.

An accelerated programme of recruitment of trainee Gardaí is essential to ensuring a visible policing presence but it is not the only means. This is recognised in the Programme for Government which includes commitments to double the Garda Reserve to act in a supportive role undertaking local patrols and crime reduction measures. Again my officials are engaging with Garda management on a plan to deliver this commitment.