Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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183. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí by rank in each of the Garda stations on Dublin's northside at 1 September 2016, 1 March 2016 and 1 September 2015. [26203/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources among the various Garda Divisions and Districts, and I as Minister have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps 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 31 July 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, there were 680 and 607 members assigned Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North and North Central Divisions respectively. The detailed information requested is set out in the tables.

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" tocontinue 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 of whom 41 have been assigned to the DMR North and 45 to the DMR North Central. Another 150 recruits are due to attest later this year.

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.

Garda Strength by Rank DMR North and DMR North Central Division 31 July 2016

Garda Strength by Rank DMR North and DMR North Central 29 February 2016

Garda Strength by Rank DMR North and DMR North Central 31 August 2015