Denis Naughten
Question:85. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice the plans to enhance policing in rural communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8937/22]
View answerThursday, 17 February 2022
Questions (85)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
Recent media coverage of robberies, burglaries and assaults on women in rural areas creates widespread fear and insecurity, particularly for older people in rural areas. We can only provide reassurance when the gardaí are given the resources. I accept we cannot have a garda at every crossroads but we need a visible community policing presence across the country.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important question around enhancing policing in rural communities. I echo the words of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and extend my best wishes to the victims and families of the recent horrific attacks. I hope that those responsible are brought to justice and made accountable for their actions.
A key pillar of Programme for Government: Our Shared Future is building stronger and safer communities. Prioritising visible policing in rural and urban communities will ensure community policing is at the forefront of our police service and an integral strand of our social contract with the public. I am conscious of the impact that serious crime can have on rural communities. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to ensuring there is strong, visible community policing across rural Ireland. That is why we have increased the funding allocated to An Garda Síochána year on year, with an unprecedented figure of more than €2 billion provided for in budget 2022. This funding will allow for recruitment of up to 800 new Garda members and an additional 400 new staff.
As of 31 January, there were 14,354 members of An Garda Síochána, an increase of 12% since the end of 2015. This year's recruitment will bring us close to the Government's target of 15,000 sworn Garda members. While I acknowledge there have been unavoidable decreases in certain areas as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the consistent increases in Garda numbers in recent years have led to a sustained strengthening of Garda presence on the ground in rural and urban areas across Ireland.
In addition to new recruits, the roll-out of the new Garda operating model will support the redeployment of gardaí from non-core duties to front-line policing across the country. The new model will see larger divisions with more resources, increased Garda visibility in communities, a wider range of locally delivered policing services and a strong focus on community policing.
As of 31 December 2021, 844 Garda members have been released from posts not requiring Garda powers or expertise and their duties reassigned to Garda staff. This has in turn facilitated the redeployment of Garda members to operational duties. The civilianisation and redeployment process will continue this year and the Commissioner has indicated a target of an additional 170 redeployments for 2022.
I welcome the fact that 800 new gardaí will be recruited. How many of these will end up in Roscommon, Longford, and Mayo? As I raised with the Minister for Justice before Christmas, we have had occasions when in half of County Roscommon only one member of An Garda Síochána has been policing an area from Ballyleague on the Longford border to Ballinasloe on the Galway border. In the past three years, 25 gardaí have left that district through promotion, transfer or retirement and not one has been replaced. This situation is replicated in Castlerea district, County Longford and across County Mayo. From Lough Gowna to Blacksod Bay we see it replicated and we do not have the resources within the operational units of An Garda Síochána in this large division.
As of 31 January 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, 298 Garda members were assigned to the Roscommon-Longford division, of whom 92 were assigned to the Longford district. These figures represent an increase of more than 2% in the Roscommon-Longford division since December 2015 and an increase of almost 10% for the Longford district in the same period. Garda members in the division are supported by 44 Garda staff, which is an increase of more than 69% since the end of 2015, when there were 26 Garda staff assigned to the division. Additional Garda staff allow existing gardaí to be redeployed on the ground. The dispersal of An Garda Síochána throughout the country is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and the relevant chief superintendents.
The Garda units in the districts across this large division have gone from units of seven and eight members to units of three and four members. We have had instances where only one member of An Garda Síochána has been available for a large district.
That is the reality and that is what is happening on the ground.
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality produced a report in 2019 which examined rural policing. One of the recommendations made was that a dedicated officer be assigned as an initial point of contact for each rural community. It would complement the recommendation of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland in its 2018 report concerning district community policing. What efforts are being made to implement that recommendation? If communities at least had a named individual who could be contacted, that would help to provide some level of reassurance.
The recommendations continue to be under review. The new divisional model will also be implementing a significant number of those recommendations. Again, however, the deployment of the members of An Garda Síochána, whether they are designated as community gardaí and where they are assigned within a division is an operational matter for the chief superintendent.