Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

508. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if 800 gardaí were recruited by the end of 2017; if so, the number of these gardaí that will be allocated to County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54559/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who 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 achieve this the Government has put in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. We are making real, tangible progress on achieving this goal.

Taking account of projected retirements, reaching a strength of 15,000 by 2021 will require some 2,400 new Garda members to be recruited on a phased basis over the next three years in addition to the more than 2,000 who have been recruited since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014 and the end of 2017. I am informed by the Commissioner that 807 Garda trainees entered the Garda College in 2017.

I am further informed that since the reopening of the Garda College just under 1,600 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, 49 of whom have been assigned to the Kilkenny/Carlow Division. I am pleased to say that Garda numbers, taking account of retirements, increased to 13,552 at the end of 2017 - an increase of over 600 in 12 months.

I am also pleased that funding is in place to maintain this high level of investment in the Garda workforce to ensure that the vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track. This year a further 800 new Garda Recruits will enter the Garda College. In addition, 800 Garda trainees are scheduled to attest during the year, which will see Garda numbers reach more than 14,000 by the end of 2018.

In addition, a further 500 civilians will also be recruited to fill critical skills gaps across the organisation and to facilitate the redeployment of Gardaí from administrative and technical duties to front-line operational duties. There are plans to strengthen the Garda Reserve with new Reserves expected to commence training early in 2018.

This focus on investment in personnel is critical. The moratorium on recruitment introduced in 2010 resulted in a significant reduction in the strength of An Garda Síochána. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí across every Division, including the Kilkenny/Carlow Division.