Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
597. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the various categories of crimes continue to be reported in all Garda divisions and districts in County Kildare; the degree to which resultant prosecutions continue to be filed and processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16705/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the publication of the official recorded crime statistics. The Deputy will be aware that the CSO recommenced its publication of crime statistics "under reservation" on 28 March 2018 and I have requested the CSO to contact the Deputy directly in relation to the information he has requested.
The Deputy will also appreciate that the manner in which prosecutions are processed is solely a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and I, as Minister, have no role in this regard.
However, I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána continues to monitor all new and emerging crime trends and distribute all Garda resources, including personnel, with regard to the overall policing needs of the country. For its part, the Government remains committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the necessary resources to tackle all forms of criminality in our State. In this context, An Garda Síochána will undoubtedly benefit from the resources now coming on stream through the Garda recruitment programme, and in particular the Government's vision of an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians.
So far this year 206 Garda trainees have attested and a further 600 trainees are scheduled to attest during the remainder of the year in June, September and November. The overall Garda strength is on track to be 14,000 at year end - a net increase of approximately 500 on the end of 2017.
