Vol. 418 No. 7
134 Mr. G. O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice if he has any plans to make more gardaí available for foot patrol; if he considers that this manner of patrol is a deterrent for crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
It is my policy and that of the Garda authorities to have the maximum possible number of gardaí available for operational duties, including foot patrols. A number of specific policy measures have been taken to this end such as: recruitment of 1,000 trainee gardaí since 1989 and the holding of the further recruitment competition now in progress to take in an additional 1,000 trainees over the next few years; temporary extension of retirement age from 57 to 60 for members of the garda, sergeant and inspector ranks due to retire in the period November, 1989 to 31 December, 1992; recruitment of 180 civilian staff over the past two years and a further 140 civilians this year to release trained gardaí for outdoor operational duties; and, a reduction in record keeping and streamlining of Garda clerical procedures as part of the community policing scheme to make more time available for outdoor patrol duties.
