I have been informed by the Garda authorities who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that the personnel strength of the Garda Síochána as at 20 February 2004 was 11,922, all ranks.
The total number of gardaí involved in community policing is currently being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in due course. However, all gardaí have a responsibility, inter alia, to deal with community policing issues as they arise.
Community gardaí generally perform their duties on the beat. The number of gardaí on the beat at any given time varies depending on the time of day and the day of the week. For this reason, it is not possible to define the number of community gardaí on the beat at any given time in percentage terms relative to the number of gardaí that are performing their routine duty on the beat.