Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2018
284. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of new Garda recruits assigned to each Garda station in the Cork west division in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17800/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps 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.
I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that, as of the 28 February 2018, the latest date for which figures are available, the strength of the Cork West Division was 298. There are also 8 Garda Reserves and 26 Garda civilian staff attached to the Cork West Division. When appropriate, the work of local Gardaí is supported by a number of Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Armed Support Units, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime. To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, including 15,000 Garda members.
Since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, just under 1,800 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, of whom 20 have been assigned to the Cork West Division. Garda numbers, taking account of retirements, increased to 13,551 at the end of 2017 – a net increase of over 600 since the end of 2016.
I am pleased that funding is in place to maintain this high level of investment in the Garda workforce to ensure that the vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track. This year a further 800 new Garda Recruits will enter the Garda College; some 400 of whom have already done so. In total, 800 Garda trainees are scheduled to attest during the year, some 200 of whom attested last month. Further, Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, are on track to reach 14,000 by the end of this year.
In addition, a further 500 civilians will also be recruited to fill critical skills gaps across the organisation and to facilitate the redeployment of Gardaí from administrative and technical duties to front-line operational duties. There are plans to strengthen the Garda Reserve with new Reserves expected to commence training in 2018.
This focus on investment in personnel is critical. The moratorium on recruitment introduced in 2010 resulted in a significant reduction in the strength of An Garda Síochána. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí across every Division, including the Cork West Division.
In so far as the allocation of newly attested Gardaí is concerned, this is a matter for the Commissioner. I am assured by the Commissioner that the needs of all Garda Divisions are fully considered when determining the allocation of resources. However, it is important to keep in mind that newly attested Gardaí have a further 16 months of practical and class-room based training to complete in order to receive their BA in Applied Policing. To ensure that they are properly supported and supervised and have opportunities to gain the breadth of policing experience required, the Commissioner's policy is to allocate them to specially designated training stations which have the required training and development structures and resources in place, including trained Garda tutors and access to a permanently appointed supervisory Sergeant who is thoroughly familiar with their responsibilities under the training programme.
I have set out in the table the number of new Garda recruits assigned to each Garda station in the Cork West Division in each of the years 2014 -2017 and to date in 2018.
|
Probationer Garda Allocations 2015 – 2018* |
||||||
|
DIVISION |
STATION |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
TOTAL |
|
CORK WEST |
BANDON |
5 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
15 |
|
CLONAKILTY |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
|
|
TOTAL |
5 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
20 |
*To date in 2018
