Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 September 2021
581. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice the number of community Gardaí attached to Finglas and Ballymun stations, Dublin 9 and 11 in each of the past ten years by rank in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46617/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the stationing of Gardaí and their allocation to Garda units. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters.
I am assured by An Garda Síochána that local and senior Garda management are consulted during the allocation of Garda personnel, and are responsible for the specific deployment and assignment of duties being undertaken at divisional level to ensure the continued delivery of policing services within Garda Divisions.
To date, the official categorisation as a Community Garda refers to those who are exclusively assigned to building relationships with local communities and civil society, including by giving talks to schools, community groups and others. However, community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána, and all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in the course of carrying out their duties. This has perhaps never been clearer than in the response which has been provided to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The below table, provided to me by the Garda authorities, outlines the number of Garda members categorised as Community Gardaí that are assigned to Ballymun and Finglas Garda Stations, broken down by rank, during the period 31 December 2012 to 31 August 2021.
|
Ballymun |
Sergeants |
Garda |
Finglas |
Sergeants |
Garda |
|
31/12/2012 |
2 |
10 |
31/12/2012 |
1 |
14 |
|
31/12/2013 |
2 |
8 |
31/12/2013 |
1 |
10 |
|
31/12/2014 |
1 |
8 |
31/12/2014 |
1 |
11 |
|
31/12/2015 |
1 |
5 |
31/12/2015 |
1 |
11 |
|
31/12/2016 |
1 |
5 |
31/12/2016 |
0 |
10 |
|
31/12/2017 |
1 |
7 |
31/12/2017 |
1 |
11 |
|
31/12/2018 |
1 |
7 |
31/12/2018 |
1 |
10 |
|
31/12/2019 |
1 |
4 |
31/12/2019 |
1 |
14 |
|
31/12/2020 |
1 |
5 |
31/12/2020 |
0 |
15 |
|
31/08/2021 |
1 |
7 |
31/08/2021 |
0 |
11 |
