Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2018
255. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set down the number of gardaí stationed in Monasterevin; the opening times of the station; and his plans to increase the number of gardaí in this station. [21990/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, and decisions in relation to Garda station opening hours 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.
The Deputy will be aware the Monasterevin Garda Station forms part of the Kildare District in the Kildare Division. I am informed by the Commissioner that on 30 April 2018, the latest date for which figures are readily available, the strength of the Kildare Division was 365, of whom 129 and 5 were assigned to the Kildare District and Monasterevin Garda Station respectively. There are also 19 Garda Reserves and 30 civilians attached to the 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 am further advised by the Commissioner that Monasterevin Garda Station is open daily from 10.00am - 1.00pm subject to the operational requirements of the Division.
This 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 achieve this the Government has put in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. We are making real, tangible progress on achieving this goal.
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 85 members have been assigned to the Kildare 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 have attested so far. Further, Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, are on track to reach 14,000 by the end of this year.
Taking account of projected retirements, reaching a strength of 15,000 by 2021 will require some 1,600 more Garda members to be recruited on a phased basis over the next two years. This is an ambitious programme of accelerated recruitment. To ensure a continuous pipeline of candidates a new recruitment drive was launched by the Commissioner last week with a closing date of 6 June. The competition is being undertaken by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Commissioner and applications should be made to www.publicjobs.ie.
In addition to the investment in more Gardaí, a further 500 civilians will 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. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí. Undoubtedly, the ongoing recruitment process will support all Garda activities and enhance visibility within our communities and will enable the Commissioner to provide additional resources across every Garda Division, including the Kildare Division, as new Garda recruits continue to come on stream.
