Johnny Guirke
Question:543. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the number of community gardaí who are assigned in County Meath by station in tabular form. [15841/22]
View answerTuesday, 29 March 2022
Questions (543, 544)
Johnny Guirke
Question:544. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Justice the number of community gardaí that are assigned in County Westmeath by station in tabular form. [15842/22]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 543 and 544 together.
The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with the 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.
As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes decisions on the deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.
I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends, to ensure their optimum use. I understand that it is a matter for the Divisional Chief Superintendent to determine the optimum distribution of duties among the personnel available to them, having regard to the profile of each area within the Division and its specific needs.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that on 28 February 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, there were a total of 793 Community Gardaí. This represents an increase of 14% since December 2018 when there were 695 Community Gardaí nationally.
For the Deputy's information, the table below sets out the number of Community Gardaí assigned to Garda stations in Meath and Westmeath Division at 28 February 2022.
|
Meath Division |
Sergeant |
Garda |
Total |
|
Ashbourne |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Kells |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Navan |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
Oldcastle |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Total |
2 |
6 |
8 |
|
Westmeath Division |
Sergeant |
Garda |
Total |
|
Athlone |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Mullingar |
1 |
5 |
6 |
|
Total |
2 |
5 |
7 |
To date, the official categorisation as a Community Garda has simply referred to those who are exclusively assigned to building relationships with local communities and civil society, including giving talks to schools, community groups and others. It is important to note, however, that community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána and that all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in the course of carrying out their duties. Indeed, this is fundamental to the new Garda Operating Model recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and currently being rolled out under 'A Policing Service for Our Future', the Government's implementation plan for the Commission's recommendations.
Question No. 544 answered with Question No. 543.