As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and Districts, and I as Minister have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keep this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources.
This Government is committed to the ongoing recruitment of trainee Gardaí, and to this end the first intake since 2009 of new recruits commenced training at the Garda College, Templemore, in September of last year. To date there have been four intakes of Garda Trainees into the Garda College, giving a total intake of 400. A further 150 recruits will enter college by year end, bringing total recruitment of Garda Trainees to 550. On attestation, new Probationer Gardaí are assigned to Garda stations throughout the country by the Garda Commissioner, where they are assigned to mainstream uniform policing duties. I am assured by Garda management that the needs of all Garda Divisions, including the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) East Division, which covers the areas mentioned, are fully considered when determining the allocation of newly attested Gardaí.
The latest figures to hand from the Garda authorities indicate that there are 379 members of An Garda Síochána assigned to the DMR East Division, 208 of whom are assigned to the Dun Laoghaire District. The work of the Gardaí assigned to the DMR East Division is supported by 19 members of the Garda Reserve and 21 civilian staff.
