Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí and reservists in each Garda station in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42411/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of Garda personnel among the various 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 do not politically interfere in policing matters nor direct the Commissioner where to deploy resources.

Notwithstanding the Commissioner’s responsibility I have provided for the record, in tabular form, the detailed information requested by the Deputy.

I am informed by the Commissioner that the strength of the Clare Division on 31 August 2018, the latest date for which information is readily available, was 316. There are also 6 Garda Reserves and 33 Garda civilian staff attached to the Clare Division. When necessary, 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.

I wish to take the opportunity to again confirm the Government’s firm commitment to supporting An Garda Síochána and ensuring that the organisation is appropriately resourced.

Garda recruitment effectively ended in 2010 and did not resume till September 2014 when the Government reopened the Garda College in Templemore once the economy had stabilised. I am informed by the Commissioner that since then 2,200 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, of whom 37 have been assigned to the Clare Division. I am pleased that the strength of An Garda Síochána will reach over 14,000 members by the end of 2018 for the first time in many years.

I strongly welcome the funding provided in Budget 2019 for the recruitment of up to 800 Garda recruits next year, along with necessary civilian Garda staff. This ongoing recruitment will provide the Commissioner with the resources both in terms of the increase in new Gardaí and the redeployment of Gardaí to frontline policing duties following civilianisation of their roles. The net benefit of this is the increased Garda visibility and greater response to the policing needs of communities in every Garda Division including the Clare Division.

Garda Reserves Clare Division by Station 31 August 2018