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, including personnel, 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 the area in question is patrolled by members assigned to Tallaght Garda station. Tallaght forms part of the wider Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) South Division and on the 31 August 2016, the latest dates for which figures are readily available, there were 544 Gardaí, 33 reserves and 30 civilians attached to this Division, of which 176 Gardaí, 8 Reserves and 12 Civilians were attached to Tallaght Garda station. When appropriate, the work of local Gardaí is supported by a number of Divisional Units such as the Traffic Unit, Burglary Response Unit and the Scenes of Crime Unit and also from the Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (formerly the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation) and the Drugs and Organised Crime Unit. The needs of each Division are fully considered within the context of the overall policing needs of the State.

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 40 of these have been assigned to DMR South Garda Divsion. Another 150 will attest later this year and will be assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide.

In order to continue to ensure seamless ongoing recruitment of trainee Gardaí I was very pleased to announce the commencement of a new recruitment campaign on 8 September which includes a special stream for eligible reserve members. The campaign is being organised by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Garda Commissioner. Applications must be made through www.publicjobs.ie before the closing date for applications this Friday the 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. The DMR South and all other Garda Divisions, will undoubtedly benefit from these resources now coming on stream.

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 training programme, and to provide appropriate supervision and support to newly qualified Gardaí to ensure that victims and the public are well served. I welcome the detailed planning process that the Commissioner and her team have in place to ensure the delivery of increased numbers of Gardaí without any compromise on the quality of those recruited or the training programme.