Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the most recent figures for the number of Garda Reserve members in each Garda division, in tabular form. [14750/17]

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 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.

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 to deter crime. To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. This year, 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. Funding has also been provided for the recruitment of 300 Garda Reserves.

I was very pleased to announce today the launch of a new recruitment campaign for Garda Reserves. This new campaign is necessary to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to increase the strength of the Reserve to 2,000 by 2021, to act in a supportive role undertaking local patrols and crime reduction measures. Garda Reserve members have undergone training in many of the skills required to be effective full-time members of An Garda Síochána and it is important that we build on the very real contribution that they are making to the policing of communities right across the country.

I would encourage anyone interested in pursuing policing as a career to consider first becoming a member of the Reserve where they can see at first-hand what being a member of An Garda Síochána actually involves. The competition is being run by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Garda Commissioner and applications can be made online by 13 April, 2017, through www.publicjobs.ie.

For the Deputy's information I have set out in the table, as provided by the Commissioner, the strength of the Garda Reserve in each Division as of 31 January 2017, the latest date for which figures are readily available.

Garda Reserve Strength 31 January 2017