Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 November 2019
248. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí by rank and civilian staff by grade by Garda division nationwide in An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47123/19]
View answerIt is important to be clear that under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 as amended, the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for management of An Garda Síochána and for the allocation and efficient use of Garda resources. This includes responsibility for personnel matters and the distribution of personnel across the various Garda Divisions. As Minister I have no direct role in these matters. I understand however that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use.
As the Deputy will be aware, a record €1.76 billion was allocated to the Garda Vote for 2019, as well as capital investment amounting to €92 million this year and this is increasing to an unprecedented €1.882 billion for 2020. This level of funding will allow the Garda Commissioner to recruit up to 700 new Gardaí next year and additional Garda staff, the balance of which will be an operational matter for the Commissioner to decide.
This ongoing investment is supporting significant growth in the organisation towards the Government's target of an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 by 2021.
The information requested by the Deputy is available on my Department's website at
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Garda_Staff
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Garda_Workforce
For more general information on Garda facts and figures, the Deputy may also wish to see the information on the link below:
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/An_Garda_Siochana_facts_and_figures
