Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 March 2014
188. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a breakdown of the number of gardaí who retired and were not replaced in County Donegal in the past five years; the number of vacancies in the Garda per rank in the county; the allocation he plans to make to the county during the current phase of recruitment; the timeframe to complete this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12687/14]
View answerWhile the number of retirements of gardaí in the Donegal Division in 2009 and 2010 is not readily available, there have been 55 retirements of gardaí in that Division since 2011.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of all personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. This necessary ongoing flexibility in the distribution of personnel means that it is not feasible to identify specific vacancies within specific areas or Divisions of the Force.
The needs of the Donegal Division will be fully considered in the next allocation of probationer Gardaí by the Garda Commissioner. It is envisaged that the first batch of new recruits will enter the training college in Templemore later this year and that they will be attested and assigned to Garda stations in early 2015.
