Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 July 2018
171. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the action being taken or that can be taken to address the issue of threats and intimidation against individual members of An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30007/18]
View answerI am sure the Deputy will agree that we are all immensely grateful to An Garda Síochána for their outstanding dedication and commitment and for the important role, all too frequently putting themselves in danger, that they play in our society. It is imperative that Gardaí are protected in carrying out their work and that the law reflects and responds to the situations in which they find themselves.
The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 (as amended) provides explicit statutory protection for peace officers, including members of the Garda Síochána, in relation to offences involving assault to or obstruction of a peace officer in the execution of his or her duty. Section 19 of that Act provides that any person who assaults a peace officer acting in the execution of his or her duty is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years. This maximum prison penalty was, in fact, increased from a 5 year term under the Criminal Justice Act of 2006.
The general law relating to assault is contained in the Non-Fatal Offences against the Persons Act 1997, which deals comprehensively with a wide range of assault provisions, the more serious of which carry heavy penalties. The assault and related provisions in that Act apply to assaults on all sectors of our community, which of course also includes members of the Garda Síochána.
The Deputy will be aware that this Government remains 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 deter crime.
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, 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.
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.
