Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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70. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will indicate the availability of extra gardaí and resources throughout north Kildare with particular reference to those locations recently the subject of anti-social behaviour or disturbances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31401/16]

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 personnel and resources in An Garda Síochána and I, as Minister, have no direct role in these matters. 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 that on the 31 August 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, there were 314 Gardaí, 26 Garda Reserves and 26 civilians assigned to the Kildare Garda Division. When appropriate, the work of local Gardaí is supported by a number of 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 National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.

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. In furtherance of this I announced last week that the Government has approved my proposal for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. In 2017, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Appointments will also be made to the Garda Reserve of approximately 300.

Since the Garda College reopened in 2014 there will have been 1,200 trainee Garda recruited by the end of this year. I am assured by the Commissioner that the needs of all Garda Divisions are fully considered when determining the allocation of newly attested Gardaí and so far 534 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána of whom of whom 25 of these have been assigned to Kildare. 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 last September. The campaign is being organised by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Garda Commissioner. The existing recruitment campaign (launched November 2015) 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.

This accelerated recruitment of trainee Garda is complemented by substantial investment in resources across the board for An Garda Síochána. The Deputy will be aware of the significant resources that have been made available to An Garda Síochána under the Government's Capital Plan 2016 - 2021. In particular, some €205 million in additional funding for Garda ICT and €46 million for new Garda vehicles has been allocated over the lifetime of the plan. This investment will facilitate the provision of more effective policing services and I expect that the Kildare Division, like all other Garda Divisions will benefit from these new resources becoming available.