This Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the capacity to provide effective and visible policing throughout the country. A crucial element of the Government's strategy is ensuring ongoing seamless recruitment to renew An Garda Síochána.
With this in mind Budget 2016 made provision for the recruitment of 600 new Gardaí this year bringing to 1,150 the number of new Gardaí who will have been recruited since the reopening of the Garda College in Templemore in September 2014. To date there have been six intakes of Garda Trainees to the Garda College, giving a total intake of 550 with a further intake provisionally scheduled for 11 April 2016. So far 296 of these new recruits have been fully attested and are undertaking Garda duties in communities nationwide.
In order to fulfil the recruitment commitment for 2016 a new recruitment campaign was launched in last November. That campaign, which closed on 6 January, has attracted strong interest with in the region of 16,500 applications received by the Public Appointments Service which is organising the competition on behalf of the Garda Commissioner.
The 2016 Budget allocation of €1.5 billion for An Garda Síochána includes over €67 million in additional funding which will, in addition to the recruitment of new trainee Gardaí, also provide additional funding for Garda Surveillance, special operations and targeted, intelligence-led policing. This additional recruitment and budget allocation builds on the current high level of investment in Garda vehicles. We have invested over €34 million in new Garda vehicles since 2012 with over 640 new vehicles coming on stream since the start of 2015. The Government's Capital Plan 2016-2021 provides for a further €46 million of investment in vehicles as well as an additional €205 million for Information and Communications Technology which will allow An Garda Síochána to deploy the latest cutting edge technologies in the fight against crime. Taken together, this step-change in investment in policing
demonstrates this Government's commitment to investing in 21st Century policing and will ensure that the Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive, on the roads and in the community to prevent and tackle crime.
Taking actions to counter the security threats facing the State is a priority for An Garda Síochána. The Garda Authorities have the appropriate resources available to them to tackle threats from these sources but given the evolving nature of the security threats the Garda Commissioner is carrying out a review at present and will let me know of any additional requirements that may arise. In general terms, An Garda Síochána will take all possible steps to deal with any threat to this country, combining a strong intelligence base with a well-trained, armed special intervention and support capacity, and a range of other local and national policing and investigative resources dedicated to countering security threats whatever their origins. The use and exchange of good intelligence is increasingly important in tackling organised crime and terrorism. In this regard, as part of the major programme of investment in An Garda Síochána under the Government's Capital Plan there will be considerable investment in Garda information and communications technology, including connecting to the Schengen Information System, that will support crime investigation and enhance intelligence-led policing.
