An Garda Síochána

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 March 2022

Tuesday, 29 March 2022

Questions (536, 537, 539, 540, 541, 542)

Johnny Guirke

Question:

536. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí who were assigned to stations in County Meath in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [15834/22]

Johnny Guirke

Question:

537. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí who were assigned to stations in County Westmeath in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [15835/22]

Johnny Guirke

Question:

539. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí who were assigned to stations in County Westmeath in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [15837/22]

Johnny Guirke

Question:

540. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí who are assigned currently assigned to stations in County Meath, by station in tabular form. [15838/22]

Johnny Guirke

Question:

541. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the total number of gardaí currently assigned to stations in County Westmeath, by station in tabular form. [15839/22]

Johnny Guirke

Question:

542. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí currently employed in each county per head of population in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15840/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I propose to take Questions Nos. 536, 537, 539, and 540 to 542, inclusive, together.

The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with an unprecedented allocation provided in Budget 2022 of in excess of €2 billion. This includes funding for the recruitment of up to an additional 800 Garda members and up to 400 Garda staff.

It should be noted that many of the Garda members to be recruited will be drawn from the recent Garda recruitment competition, which closed earlier in the month. I am advised that interest in the campaign was strong, with over 10,000 applications received, and this is an excellent response.

I would add that over 800 Garda members have also been redeployed in recent years from administrative duties to frontline policing roles as part of the ongoing implementation of the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes decisions on the distribution of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

Garda management have indicated that it is not appropriate to determine the allocation of Garda resources simply on the basis of population size alone. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review taking into account all relevant factors including population, crime trends and the policing needs of each individual Garda Division. Where a deficiency in resources is identified, the matter is considered fully and addressed accordingly.

For the Deputy's information, the table included in the attached spreadsheet sets out the information requested by the Deputy.

Garda Nos.

The Deputy may wish to be aware that the majority of the information sought by the Deputy is made publicly available by both my Department and An Garda Síochána in tabular form and updated monthly. Information can be found at the following link on my Department's website:

www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Garda_Workforce

Question No. 537 answered with Question No. 536.