As the Deputy will appreciate the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of resources. The Garda stations mentioned are in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) West which on the 30 September 2015, the latest date for which figures are readily available has a total Garda strength of 694, of which there are 197, 94 and 74 assigned to Clondalkin, Ronanstown and Lucan Garda stations respectively.
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 has been five intakes of Garda Trainees to the Garda College, giving a total intake of 475. It is planned that a further 75 recruits will enter college by the end of November, bringing total recruitment of Garda Trainees to 550. So far 295 of the new Garda Trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána. 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 are fully considered when determining the allocation of newly attested Gardaí.
The increased budget allocation for An Garda Síochána in 2016 which I recently announced, provides for the recruitment of 600 new Gardaí in addition to the 550 that will be recruited by year end. This will bring the total number of trainee Gardai recruited since September 2014 to 1,150 by the end of 2016. The ongoing recruitment of new Gardaí is crucial to An Garda Síochána and for the safety of communities throughout the State.
This ramped-up recruitment underscores the determination of this Government to deliver an effective, responsive police service to protect our communities and respond to emerging crime trends.
This Government has also invested over €34 million in new Garda vehicles since 2012 with over 640 new vehicles coming on stream in 2015, ranging from more Garda patrol cars to high-powered vehicles for armed units. This will ensure Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive, on the roads and in the community. We are also investing in airborne surveillance and enhanced technology and ICT systems.
Operation Thor, a new multi-strand national anti-crime and anti-burglary operation which was launched yesterday by the Garda Commissioner will make full use of this continuing investment. Operation Thor, which has been in planning for several months, builds on previous and current Garda operations and entails a broad range of activities to tackle crime, particularly burglaries in both urban and rural communities nationwide. A further allocation of in excess of €5 million has been committed to Operation Thor. This allocation, which includes funding for Garda overtime will support a combination of additional patrols, checkpoints, rapid armed response and public awareness measures.
Operation Thor will be further supported by new laws aimed at prolific offenders which I am introducing including the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill, which is currently going through the Oireachtas. That Bill will
- require the District Court to provide for consecutive jails sentences where a burglar is being sentenced for multiple offences;
- allow Courts to refuse bail for offenders who have a previous conviction for domestic burglary coupled with two or more pending charges.
I am confident that the totality of the Government's response in terms of resources and legislative initiatives will disrupt the activities of burglars, organised crime gangs and prolific offenders and will improve the safety for all communities across the country.
