Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 November 2016
34. Deputy John Lahart asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda stations and the number of gardaí in the Dublin southern metropolitan region on 31 October 2010 and on 31 October 2016; the proportion of the proposed 800 additional recruits in 2017 that are likely to be assigned to the Dublin southern metropolitan region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34734/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs I have said to other Deputies, for ease of reference I have provided a breakdown of the detailed information requested on the number of Garda stations and the number of gardaí assigned to the DMR south division and the DMR south central division on 31 October 2010 and 30 September 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available. There is quite a lot of detail in that and I will be forwarding that to the Deputy today. When the extra gardaí are recruited it is an operational matter as to where they will serve. That operational decision is made by the Garda Commissioner and as I said in reply to an earlier question from Deputy Murphy and Deputy Lahart's other colleagues, we want to see gardaí being assigned to the areas that need them most and that has to be assessed looking at population trends, crime levels and so on.
We are committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. As I said, there were decreases in many crime categories, and that was also reflected in the victimisation study that was done. It is important to look at both sets of data. There was a 26% reduction nationwide in burglaries but a huge effort was made and a dedicated operation put in place, which involved high visibility and extra Garda presence, and money was allocated in order to make sure this was successful.
We are attempting to put in place a plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021. That is 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. That recruitment will begin next year after the survey has been done and the work has been done by An Garda Síochána. In terms of next year, I assure the Deputy that funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and civilians to support that plan.
I am tempted to say the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport does not seem to hold back when it comes to talking about matters under the operational control of the Commissioner, but that would take away from the time I want to devote to this issue. Having lived there all my life, I acknowledge that my constituency has seen unprecedented spikes in crime, particularly from mid-2014 to the end of 2014. The Minister might pass on to the Garda Commissioner and the gardaí in Rathfarnham and Tallaght in particular that I commend them on their work, particularly in effecting change in the burglary statistics, which is very welcome. That is evident on the ground anecdotally in terms of the reality of people's lives. However, there are still areas of serious concern. The rise in sexual offences seems to be continuing. Those offences are not categorised, and I do not know if the Minister is in a position to comment on them. Assaults, theft and related offences are still higher than in 2014. When I look at the figures for Rathfarnham Garda station in my constituency and in Tallaght Garda station, there has been a huge spike in theft from persons. Those figures are under street crimes, which I will comment on further shortly.
I agree with the Deputy that the challenge is ongoing with regard to criminal activity. We are also seeing increased levels of cyber crime, and gardaí are having to put more resources into dealing with that. A national conference was held on that today.
That is a significant threat, both in Ireland and internationally, and we have to increase the resources and provide the technical staff that are needed to deal with the issue. There is a number of other disturbing trends, as the Deputy said, in respect of sexual crime and the incidence of domestic violence, and we all have to be alert to interrupting that. Tomorrow I will launch a new awareness strategy with regard to domestic violence to ensure that people act when they see incidents of domestic violence.
In the context of Deputy Lahart's area, of the officers who have attested as members of An Garda Síochána, 40 and 45 have been assigned to the DMR south division and the DMR south-central division, respectively, and we have another 150 trainee gardaí coming out on Thursday next.
I welcome that, but we are still short when one compares the numbers, for example, in Limerick city and county with this metropolitan region. The number of gardaí serving in Limerick city and county is almost twice that of those serving in Tallaght and Rathfarnham. I appreciate that there is a great deal of investment in cars, and certainly they are visible around the constituency, but the garda on the beat is still not visible. I think of two instances. In one, there was repeated anti-social behaviour two weeks ago in the vicinity of a community centre in Jobstown. Said behaviour is causing havoc and I have written to the Garda Commissioner in respect of it. People who contacted the Garda were informed that there was only one car available and that it was dealing with another crime. This is giving rise to much concern locally. I do not want to stigmatise Jobstown. In Rathfarnham, according to the figures I possess, burglaries are down but robberies from the person are up 57% year on year. The latter are on-street crimes and it is in respect of these that gardaí on the beat and a visible garda presence, including, potentially, that of members of the Garda Reserve, would make a considerable difference to communities.
As I said, an Garda Síochána is currently conducting an analysis of the reserve and will be making recommendations. That report is almost ready. Recruitment will begin next year for the Garda Reserve. I agree with Deputy Lahart that they certainly have a role to play as well.
I take the Deputy's point in respect of anti-social behaviour and the devastating impact it can have on a local community. Clearly, ongoing recruitment, focused activity and community policing are important in order to deal with that. The development of and further work by community police has been identified as a priority in this year's policing plan, which is due for discussion by the Policing Authority.
