Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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18. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number, rank, title and job of members of An Garda Síochána who are assigned to the Cavan-Monaghan Garda division; the number of new members which have been assigned since January 2015; the number of members who have retired since January 2015; the number of new vehicles allocated to this Division since 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24469/16]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number and rank of gardaí who retired in the Cavan-Monaghan Garda division from 2011 to 2016 to date; the stations they retired from; the number of new recruits which have been assigned to each Garda station in the Cavan-Monaghan Garda division from 2011 to 2016 to date, in tabular from; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24826/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 48 together.

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.

The number, rank and title of members of An Garda Síochána who were assigned to the Cavan/Monaghan Garda Division on the 31 July 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, is as set out in the following table. For operational reasons it is not possible to provide specific details in relation to roles undertaken by individual Garda members.

In relation to the other queries raised by the Deputy in relation to the number of new vehicles allocated to the Cavan/Monaghan Division since 2015, and the number and rank of Garda members in that Division who retired from 2011 to 2016 together with their stations, I have requested this information from the Garda Commissioner and will update the Deputy when it is to hand.

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 15 of these have been assigned to Cavan/Monaghan. Another 150 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.

CAVAN / MONAGHAN Division 31 July 2016