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.
It is my intention to bring proposals to Government shortly in relation to the filling of vacancies in the superintendent rank. It is of course an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner to decide how to allocate and deploy these resources.