Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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370. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will recommend the reallocation of probationer gardaí attached to districts as part of the Covid-19 response back to those districts as soon as their training is complete (details supplied) [9134/20]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána and for the allocation of Garda resources, in light of identified operational demand. This includes responsibility for personnel matters and the deployment of personnel across the various Garda Divisions. As Minister I have no direct role in these matters.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that no decision has been made at this time in respect of the allocation, following completion of their training, of the probationer Gardaí who attested early and were allocated from the Garda College in March 2020 in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

More generally, it should be noted that the resources provided to An Garda Síochána have reached unprecedented levels, with an allocation for 2020 of €1.88 billion. This level of funding is enabling sustained, ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff and as a result, An Garda Síochána is a growing organisation. We now have approximately 14,700 Gardaí nationwide, supported by over 3,000 Garda staff and these numbers are continuing to grow.

I am assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources and deployment of personnel under continual review, to ensure their optimum use and deployment.

The Deputy may also be interested to know that arrangements have now been made by the Garda authorities to permit further intakes of Garda recruits, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.