As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources.
I am informed by the Commissioner that in regard to the deployment of Garda personnel, a distribution model is used which takes into account all relevant factors including population, crime trends and the policing needs of each individual Garda Division. It is the responsibility of the Divisional Officer to allocate personnel within his/her Division.
The Deputy will be aware that Mountbellew Garda Station forms part of the Ballinasloe District in the Galway Division. I am informed by the Commissioner that the number of Gardaí assigned to that Division on 31 May 2018, the latest date for which information is readily available, was 576, of whom 6 were assigned to Mountbellow Garda Station. There are also 31 Garda Reserves and 60 Garda civilian staff attached to the Division. When appropriate, the work of local Gardaí is supported by a number of Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Armed Support Units, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime. To achieve this the Government has put in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. We are making real, tangible progress on achieving this goal
I am informed by the Commissioner that since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, just over 1,960 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, of whom 27 members have been assigned to the Galway Division. Garda numbers, taking account of retirements, increased to 13,551 at the end of 2017 – a net increase of over 600 since the end of 2016.
I am pleased that funding is in place to maintain this high level of investment in the Garda workforce to ensure that the vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track. This year a further 800 new Garda Recruits will enter the Garda College; some 400 of whom have already done so. In total, 800 Garda trainees are scheduled to attest during the year, 400 of whom have attested to date. Further, Garda numbers, taking account of projected retirements, are on track to reach 14,000 by the end of 2018.
In addition, a further 500 civilians will also be recruited to fill critical skills gaps across the organisation and to facilitate the redeployment of Gardaí from administrative and technical duties to front-line operational duties. There are plans to strengthen the Garda Reserve with new Reserves expected to commence training in 2018.
This focus on investment in personnel is critical. The moratorium on recruitment introduced in 2010 resulted in a significant reduction in the strength of An Garda Síochána. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Commissioner with the resources needed to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí across every Division, including the Galway Division
The Deputy will appreciate that the programme of replacement and refurbishment of Garda accommodation is progressed by the Garda authorities working in close cooperation with the Office of Public Works (OPW), which has the responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. This includes identifying and progressing any necessary remedial or refurbishment works required at individual stations. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.
The Garda Station Building and Refurbishment Programme 2016-2021 is an ambitious 5 year Programme, based on agreed Garda priorities, that will benefit over thirty locations around the country. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the programme does not include any provision to redevelop or refurbish Mountbellew Garda Station.
However the Deputy will be aware that development of a new Divisional and Regional Headquarters is nearing completion in Galway. Over €100 million was committed to progress that development, together with new Divisional and Regional Headquarters already completed in Wexford and Kevin Street, Dublin.
For the Deputy’s information I have set out in tabular form the number of Gardaí attached to the Ballinasloe District on 31 December 2016 and on 31 May 2018, the latest date for which figures are currently available as supplied by the Commissioner.
Strength of the Ballinasloe District on 31 December 2016 and on 31 May 2018
|
District
|
Station
|
31 Dec 2016
|
31 May 2018
|
|
BALLINASLOE
|
AHASCRAGH
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
BALLINASLOE
|
41
|
46
|
|
|
BALLYGAR
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
CREGGS
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
KILCONNELL
|
1
|
-
|
|
|
MOUNT BELLEW
|
7
|
6
|
|
|
MOYLOUGH
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
53
|
56
|
