asked the Minister for Justice if he will ask the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána to redress the imbalance of allocation of Garda strength as between the greater Dublin area and the rest of the country in order to recognise the differing crime situation in each area; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Garda Strength Allocation.
19.
I accept that the incidence of crime in a particular area is a factor which has to be considered in the allocation of Garda manpower and the Deputy may be assured that due weight is in fact given to it. I would not, however, accept the suggestion which appears to be inherent in the Question, that the level of Garda manpower to be assigned to an area should be directly proportional to the level of recorded crime in that area. Such a suggestion takes no account of other important factors which are relevant to Garda personnel deployment policies. These include the extent of rural areas that must be policed, the economies of scale that can be achieved in policing large urban areas, the security requirements of particular locations and the extent to which support staff may be available in certain areas to supplement the services of operational gardaí.
The Garda Síochána must be deployed throughout the State in such a way as to ensure, as far as possible, that all areas are provided with a Garda service commensurate with their needs, taking into account that there is a limit to the total Garda resources that can be made available. Decisions in regard to the number of gardaí to be allocated to the Dublin Metropolitan Area are, as in the case of any other area, based upon a professional assessment by the Garda authorities of the relative policing needs of all areas throughout the whole country. Garda personnel deployment strategies are constantly reviewed to ensure that resources are assigned to where they are most needed at any given time.
I am very conscious of the particular crime problems that are associated with the DMA and I fully appreciate the need to keep Garda strength there at a level where it can effectively cope with these problems. I have regular consultations with the Garda Commissioner about my concern in this regard and I am satisfied that full consideration will continue to be given to the particular policing needs of the DMA.