Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1067. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the lowest number of gardaí on duty in each sub district overnight in Meath for each of the past five years; how many Garda stations in Ireland have no full-time garda; and if she will identify the stations. [37186/23]
View answerI can assure the Deputy the Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and the 2023 budget of over €2 billion will allow for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff, with Garda recruits entering Templemore approximately every 11 weeks.
Overall, since 2015 there has been an almost 9% net increase in the number of Gardaí. These Gardaí are supported by around 3,140 Garda staff, which is over 56% more than the number of staff in 2015. This increases the availability of Gardaí to concentrate on front-line policing duties.
As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the distribution and stationing of the Garda Síochána throughout the State. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions.
I am assured by the Commissioner that the requirements of all Garda Divisions nationwide are taken into account, which include, but are not limited to:
- Local and national crime trends and workloads
- Policing arrangements and operational strategies
- Minimum establishment statistics
- Local population and trends, geographical area and size
- Transfer applications, including welfare, personnel issues and concerns
I also understand that local and senior Garda management are consulted during the allocation of personnel and are responsible for the specific deployment and assignment of duties being undertaken at divisional level. The situation remains closely monitored by the Garda Senior Leadership Team, particularly in view of commitments to the continued roll-out of the operating model of policing at divisional level to ensure optimum use of all Garda Resources in providing the best possible Garda service to the community.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that the information requested by the Deputy cannot be provided. I am informed that while Members may be allocated to a particular station they may, for operational reasons, be deployed elsewhere. I am further informed that it is not possible to provide a figure for the number of Gardaí on duty at any one time due to the fluctuating nature of crossovers, rosters, and other necessary operational changes.
The table appended below sets out the number of Gardaí nationwide by division, district and station from the end of December 2019 up to the end of December 2022 and at the end of July 2023, the latest date for when figures are available.
All information provided above is based upon operational data which has been provided by An Garda Síochána and may be subject to change.
The Deputy will wish to be aware that in the interest of transparency, detailed statistics on Garda workforce numbers are published on gov.ie and are updated regularly by my Department from information provided by An Garda Síochána. The statistics can be accessed using the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/bd777-an-garda-siochana-your-police-service-some-facts-and-figures/
