Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

72. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí attached to core Garda units in the Cork city Garda division compared to 2010; and his views on same. [16544/18]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

85. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí allocated to core Garda units now compared to 2010; and his views on whether consideration should be given to reviewing the 2021 Garda strength targets. [16542/18]

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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 85 together.

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 the strength of the Cork City Division on 28 February 2018, the latest date for which information is currently available, was 667. There are also 42 Garda Reserves and 69 Garda civilian staff attached to the Cork City 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, the Armed Support Units, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda 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 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. This is an ambitious plan which requires significant investment in terms of recruitment, equipment, and accommodation while at the same time ensuring that the standard of training and supervision of the new entrants to An Garda Síochána over the course of the plan is not compromised. We are making real, tangible progress on achieving this goal and it is not intended at this stage to review the plan.

The closure of the Garda College by the Government of the day in 2010 and the moratorium imposed at that time had a negative impact on Garda numbers across all Divisions and we continue to be negatively impacted by the legacy of the recession. Since when my Party took office in 2011 following the severe economic crash, we, along with our partners in Government, set about existing the bailout, stabilising the economy and returning to growth and job creation. We reopened the Garda College in September 2014 and since then 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.

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 Cork City Division.

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 800 Garda trainees are scheduled to attest this year - 200 of whom attested last month- which will see Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, reach 14,000 by the end of 2018.

In addition, provision has been made by the Government for the recruitment of a further 500 civilians 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.

The material requested by the Deputy is not available in the manner requested. By way of assistance I attach a spread sheet containing the number of Gardaí by Division in 2010 and on 28 February 2018, the latest date for which figures are currently available, as supplied by the Commissioner.

Garda Numbers by Division 2010 and 2018