Vol. 396 No. 3
36 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí who are attached to Garda Headquarters; the number engaged in clerical duties; and his views on whether the optimum use is being made of trained Garda resources.
Five hundred and forty-six members of the force are assigned to Garda headquarters, of whom 122 are sergeants and gardaí engaged on clerical and other administrative duties.
Twenty clerical assistants from an existing Civil Service Commission panel have already taken up duty and the remainder are currently being recruited.
I am satisfied that the Garda authorities are totally committed to the optimum deployment of the trained membership of the force in the best interests of the community. As I have already indicated to the House, I have secured Government approval for the recruitment of 250 additional civilian clerical staff for the Force. This measure is intended to have a positive impact on law enforcement by releasing gardaí from office work for crime prevention and detection duties for which they were recruited and trained.
