Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
821. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice the breakdown of the number of gardaí assigned to the Store St, Bridewell, Mountjoy, Fitzgibbon St, Cabra, Santry and Ballymun Garda stations in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, in tabular form. [13637/24]
View answerAs 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 of Garda members between the different Garda units and Divisions. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.
I am assured that the Garda Commissioner keeps the allocation of these resources under continued review to ensure their optimum use. Among the factors considered are population statistics, crime trends and operational policing matters.
I can, however, assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda Síochána is central to this policy. This commitment is demonstrated by the unprecedented allocation of more than €2.35 billion in Budget 2024, which is allowing for sustained and ongoing recruitment.
A new Garda Recruitment competition was launched on 15 January and closed for applications on 8 February. The response to the latest Garda recruitment campaign has been very strong with over 6,300 applying to become Gardaí – this is a significant increase on the 5,000 people who applied last year.
To assist with recruitment, the government increased the training allowance and increased the age of entry from 35 to 50. The Government is determined that An Garda Síochána grows to 15,000 members and beyond.
Recruitment into An Garda Síochána has accelerated following the forced closure of the Garda College. 746 trainees entered Templemore last year, the highest intake into Templemore since 2018 and a six-fold increase on 2022's intake of 116. A further intake of 186 trainee Gardaí entered Templemore this week.
The information requested by the Deputy as it pertains to Garda figures allocated to a list of stations during the years 2019-2024 are provided in the table below.
|
Garda Station |
Dec-19 |
Dec-20 |
Dec-21 |
Dec-22 |
Dec-23 |
Feb-24 |
|
Store Street |
297 |
280 |
283 |
259 |
283 |
276 |
|
Bridewell |
174 |
171 |
161 |
158 |
159 |
158 |
|
Mountjoy |
214 |
200 |
188 |
140 |
149 |
145 |
|
Fitzgibbon St. |
- |
- |
- |
56 |
47 |
47 |
|
Cabra |
66 |
68 |
60 |
62 |
65 |
68 |
|
Santry |
70 |
89 |
88 |
83 |
69 |
66 |
|
Ballymun |
139 |
140 |
133 |
133 |
147 |
146 |
|
Total |
960 |
948 |
913 |
891 |
919 |
906 |
Information in relation to the allocation of Gardaí by Division and Station, including the DMR, can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/bd777-an-garda-siochana-your-police-service-some-facts-and-figures/.
It should be noted that this information is operational and subject to change.
