Martin Heydon
Question:13. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of new Garda recruits assigned to County Kildare in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29662/18]
View answerThursday, 5 July 2018
Questions (13)
Written answers
I should say at the outset that the distribution of Garda personnel is exclusively the statutory responsibility of the Garda Commissioner.
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 Commissioner that on 31 May 2018, the latest date for which figures are readily available, the strength of the Kildare Division was 365. There are also 18 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.
As I have stated in the House on other occasions 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.
I am informed by the Commissioner that since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, almost 2,000 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, of whom 93 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.
As the Deputy will be aware, the increase in Garda numbers last year represented the first significant increase since numbers started falling in 2009 and this has driven the level of recruitment that has seen the number of Gardaí assigned to the Kildare Division increased from 301 to 365, an increase of 64 or 21% as of 31 May, the latest dates for which figures are readily available, as compared to the end of 2014.
Funding is in place to ensure that the 2021 vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 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 2018, 400 of whom have attested to date. Further, Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, are on track to reach 14,000 by the end of 2018.
Undoubtedly, the investment in resources and the ongoing recruitment process will support all Garda activities and enable the Commissioner to provide additional resources to all Garda Divisions, including the Kildare Division in the coming years.
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. While not all Garda Stations are training stations it is important to note that the allocation of probationer Gardaí to a Divisional training station facilitates the reassignment of Gardaí to other stations within the Division, if required, by the Divisional Officer.
By way of assistance to the Deputy, I have set out in the table the number of new Garda Recruits allocated to the Kildare Division in each of the years 2015 and to date in 2018 as supplied by the Commissioner.
Probationer Garda Allocations by Division - 2015 to 2018
|
DIVISION |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
Total |
|
KILDARE |
14 |
19 |
47 |
5 |
85 |
Question No. 14 answered orally.