Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 April 2015
4. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the optimum level of membership of An Garda Síochána; her views of the high level of sick leave within An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
View answerIn light of the revelation that since 1 January 2015 there are 12,799 gardaí, what does the Minister believe is the optimum head count for the force, bearing in mind that on average, on any given day, up to 500 may be out sick?
This is an issue I have hugely committed to, as seen from the announcement yesterday of a further 250 gardaí being recruited. This brings to 550 the number of gardaí to be recruited between September of last year and October of this year. We also have 1,100 Garda reserve members and a further 45 in training and 2,000 Garda civilian staff. The latest date for which figures are available shows 12,763 members of the Garda Síochána. I am very pleased that my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, agreed to the resumption of Garda recruitment. We have had three intakes and the first of these will attest as sworn members of the force in May, with the additional recruits attesting in September and October.
There is no particular scientific basis for calculating an optimum number but clearly there must be sufficient gardaí, supported by skilled personnel and with sufficient resources, to deliver the policing service the public expect and deserve. This is why we have put the focus on Garda recruitment and opened up Templemore and that is why I have committed to seamless, ongoing recruitment, which I am delivering on. We must look at the reforms the Garda Commissioner has started, with the establishment of the strategic transformation office to oversee the organisational changes necessary, and we must overhaul the information and communications technology.
All of these factors must come together if we are to have an efficient police force that is able to meet the objectives of the kind of community policing we want to see and the proper investigation of criminal activity. We must ensure there is the best use of all Garda resources, which is featured strongly in the recent Garda Inspectorate report on crime investigation.
With regard to sick leave, the following table shows the level of sick leave in the Garda Síochána between comparable periods in 2013 and 2014, which includes the period since the introduction of the new public service sick leave scheme. Comparing the period April to December of each year, there is a reduction in 30% in the number of days lost through sick leave. This is a welcome development.
Sick Leave Statistics comparing 01 Apr-31 Dec 2013 to 01 Apr-31 Dec 2014
Sworn Members
|
PERIOD |
Overall Sick Leave |
Ordinary Illness |
Injury On Duty |
|
2013 (Apr-Dec) |
173,884.5 |
142,257 |
31,627.5 |
|
2014 (Apr-Dec) |
121,579 |
94,115 |
27,464 |
|
% Decrease |
30% |
34% |
13% |
NB - The above figures are as recorded on Sick Absence Management System (SAMS) and reported as at 12.02.2015.
The total number of sick days recorded on SAMS are the number of calendar days that staff are absent and may include weekends and rest days
Sick Leave Statistics comparing 01 Apr-31 Dec 2013 to 01 Apr-31 Dec 2014
Sworn Members (5/7 formula applied)
|
PERIOD |
Overall Sick Leave |
Ordinary Illness |
Injury On Duty |
|
2013 (Apr-Dec) |
124,203 |
101,612 |
22,591 |
|
2014 (Apr-Dec) |
86,842 |
67,225 |
19,617 |
|
% Decrease |
30% |
34% |
13% |
NB - The above figures are as recorded on SAMS and reported at 12.02.2015*
The total numbers of sick days recorded on SAMS are the number of calendar days that staff are absent and may include weekends and rest days.
To align the lost time rate for AGS in line with other public sectors the formula of 5/7 was applied to the number of sick days recorded as “ORDINARY SICK LEAVE” for 2013.
This formula was applied not withstanding that the majority of gardaí work a roster over ten weeks, working ten hour shifts, six days on and resting for four days.
I heard the Minister's announcement yesterday and I think more recruitment needs to be done over and above the 250 announced. I raised this with the Garda Commissioner last week when she attended the meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. If the Garda Commissioner must roll out a multi-annual policing plan, she must be allowed to engage in multi-annual planning. Unfortunately, manpower is the biggest resource she needs. When I attend public meetings about crime around Dublin and throughout the country, the biggest issue raised is Garda response times because of the availability of gardaí to respond to calls. Some 1,498 members are eligible to retire today, which is a staggering figure. They will not all retire within the one year or month but it is significant. The Minister must have another conversation about recruitment with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin.
I raised the matter of the Garda reserve before and, lo and behold, I got two calls from people last week who were called for interview. There seems to be something happening in examining the people who applied to be members of the Garda reserve. How many will be taken on as a result of the interview process the Public Appointments Service is undertaking?
The deployment of operational resources the Garda Commissioner has is an operational issue. Members of the Garda Síochána are getting on with the work. I have been struck by comments from colleagues in the House and members of the public about their appreciation of work in local cases and high-profile cases. People have been impressed with the commitment of members of the Garda Síochána, the level of criminal investigation and quality of work. Deputy Mac Lochlainn spoke earlier about how methods developed and there have been huge improvements made in standards. That is very obvious in terms of the Molloy report, which I published this week. Today's standards of investigation are quite different.
Response times are improving and greater recruitment will give greater flexibility. The point of the extra recruitment is flexibility to deploy people as they are needed in local communities. Opening up recruitment and having 550 new gardaí to deal with the issues described is a significant step to have taken this year.
Everyone is happy to see recruitment under way but I am emphasising the figure of 1,498 gardaí eligible to retire. I remind the Minister of what the Garda Commissioner said at the committee meeting last week that she can easily have 500 members put through training in Templemore per annum. I emphasise that there will be an issue if there are 1,498 eligible to retire today in terms of the level of recruitment. It will fall short if we are to maintain headcount in the Garda Síochána at the magic number of 13,000. The Minister said 45 reserves were in training. How many will there be in the next intake? Can the Minister give an insight into the grand plan?
In 2012 and 2013, the Public Appointments Service received a record number of expressions of interest in joining the Garda reserve. That is probably linked to the new recruitment campaign and people wanted to show they were interested. Twenty-three of the first batch of 100 recruits were members of the reserve, 17 former reserve members were in the second batch of 100 new recruits and 13 former reserve members were in the third batch of 100 new full-time recruits. I explained that recruitment to the Garda reserve is ongoing but was slow in 2014 because of resource issues in the Public Appointments Service, which decided to concentrate on recruitment to the full-time force. This is expected to change in 2015 and the new powers will be rolled out to the Garda reserve shortly. If someone has been in the Garda reserve, it is a factor that the Public Appointments Service takes into account when doing interviews. It is relevant experience and is an important aspect of an applicant's CV when a decision has been taken.
On a point of order, with respect-----
This is Question Time.
We have gone ten minutes over the 30 minutes allocated for Priority Questions and it is eating into Oral Questions for ordinary Members. I just want to bring it to the attention of the Ceann Comhairle.
I am trying my best.
