Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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102. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí available in each region who have been trained to conduct specialist child interviews as part of the joint protocol with the Health Service Executive; the resources available to them to assist in the carrying out of such interviews; her future plans for this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31609/16]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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128. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the numbers of gardaí available in each region who have been trained to conduct specialist child interviews as part of the joint protocol with the Health Service Executive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31695/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 128 together.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts, the various Garda national units and of course Garda Headquarters and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources.

I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the number of Gardaí in each region who are trained to conduct specialist child interviews is as set out in the following table.