Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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94. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 155 of 15 February 2018, the number of gardaí in respect of all other counties by division, district and rank; the number of Garda vehicles based full time in counties by vehicle type, division and or district; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13264/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, 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.

I am informed by the Commissioner that in regard to the deployment of Garda personnel, a distribution model is used which takes into account all relevant factors including population, crime trends and the policing needs of each individual Garda Division. Where a deficiency in resources is identified the matter is considered fully and addressed accordingly.

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.

Since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, just under 1,800 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide. Garda numbers, taking account of retirements, increased to 13,551 at the end of 2017 – a net increase of over 600 since the end of 2016.

I am 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. Also a further 600 Garda trainees are scheduled to attest during the remainder of the year which will see Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, reach 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 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.

I am informed by the Commissioner that the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available in the format requested, as resources are assigned on a Divisional basis which does not necessarily accord to county boundaries. For the Deputy's information, I have set out in the following table and link the number of Gardaí, as advised by the Commissioner, assigned by Division, District and Rank as of 31 January 2018, and the strength of the Garda Fleet by Division as of 16 March 2018, the latest dates for which figures are currently available.

Strength of Garda Fleet, broken down by Division as at 16/03/2018

Number of Gardaí assigned by Division, District and Rank as of 31 January 2018 is at the following link: