Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Question:26. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Justice the number of community gardaí assigned to the Carlow district. [60555/22]
View answerTuesday, 6 December 2022
Questions (26)
Written answers
The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with the unprecedented allocation provided in Budget 2023 of €2.14 billion. This will fund the planned recruitment of up to 1,000 new Garda recruits as well as over 400 Garda staff.
While the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the general management and administration of the Garda organisation, I am assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review to ensure their optimal use.
I understand that it is a matter for the Divisional Chief Superintendent to determine the 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 further advised that there are no set requirements to have a specific number of Community Gardaí posts across the Divisions.
I can inform the Deputy that as of 31 October 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 96 Community Gardaí assigned to the Carlow/Kilkenny Division, which consists of 11 Sergeants and 85 Gardaí. This is a small increase compared to the 94 members assigned to Community Policing in Carlow/ Kilkenny in December 2020.
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.
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.
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.