Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 November 2018
169. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he is satisfied that Coolock Garda station has sufficient personnel and resources to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour in an area (details supplied) and the district generally in view of the increasing population in the locality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49745/18]
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.
A key priority for An Garda Síochána is the monitoring of incidences of public disorder and anti-social behaviour. Garda resources are deployed to areas designated as “hot-spots” and Gardaí work with communities to tackle and reduce these crimes with a strong focus on collaboration with local authorities to help address the causes of anti-social behaviour. I would, however, point to the need for parents to also ensure, to the best of their ability, that their children are respectful and law abiding.
The deployment of Garda personnel is continually monitored and reviewed in the context of crime trends and policing priorities to ensure optimum use of Garda resources. A dynamic distribution model of resource allocation, known as the Cohort model, has been in use by Garda management since 2015 for the allocation of personnel, including newly attested probationer Gardaí from the Garda College. It takes into account all relevant factors and aims to impose a numerical measure on the policing needs of each Division. However, ratios such as the number of Gardaí per head of population are not an appropriate tool to use as it fails to take account of the fact that crime levels and types can vary significantly amongst communities of similar population size.
With the moratorium on recruitment and the closure of the training college Garda numbers fell significantly. We are still in a process of accelerated recruitment with Garda numbers steadily increasing since 2015. I am confident that the number of Gardaí stationed in Coolock will soon return to the levels they were at prior to the economic downturn.
I strongly welcome the funding provided in Budget 2019 for the recruitment of up to 800 Garda recruits next year, along with necessary civilian Garda staff. This ongoing recruitment will provide the resources both in terms of the increase in new Gardaí and the redeployment of Gardaí to frontline policing duties following civilianisation of their roles. The net benefit of this is the greater Garda visibility and a better response to the policing needs of communities including in the DMR North Division.
The Garda strength by Station and Rank for Coolock Garda Station as on 31 October 2018 the latest date for which figures are currently available, are on my Department’s website through the link:
Garda Data
For more general information on Garda Facts and Figures please see the link:
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/An_Garda_Siochana_facts_and_figures.
