Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
651. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda Reserve members in the Donegal division in each of the years 2009 to 2017 and to date in 2018, by division, district and sub-district in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32617/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra690. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda Reserve members in the Dublin metropolitan region south division by division, district and sub-district in each of the years 2009 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form. [32766/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra721. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda Reserve members in the Louth division by division, district and sub-district in each of the years 2009 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form. [32806/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra790. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda Reserve members in the Limerick city division by division, district and sub-district in each of the years 2009 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form. [33061/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 651, 690, 721 and 790 together.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution under review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities to ensure optimum use is made of the resources.
I am advised by the Commissioner that the strength of the Reserve is currently 558. It is regrettable that there has been a substantial reduction in the strength of the Reserve in recent years from a peak of 1,164 in 2013. The fall-off arises from a range of factors, not least the lifting in 2014 of the moratorium on recruitment of trainee Gardaí which has affected the number of Reserve in two ways: firstly, serving Reserves are successfully applying to become trainee Gardaí, and secondly, the focus has been on delivering an accelerated programme of recruitment of full time members of An Garda Síochána.
I am sure that the Deputy will agree, notwithstanding the very valuable contribution of Reserve members throughout the country, that the prioritising of recruitment campaigns to replenish the full-time ranks of An Garda Síochána over the last three years was the right decision.
The "Programme for a Partnership Government" includes a commitment to double the Garda Reserve and a plan is in place to achieve a Reserve strength of 2,000 by 2021. With the plan to reach 15,000 Garda members well on track, it was possible for the Commissioner and the Public Appointments Service to undertake a new recruitment campaign for Garda Reserves last March. That competition attracted 2,394 applicants of whom 498 successfully completed the initial stages. These applications are currently being processed by the Garda Appointments Office. It is expected that the first of the successful candidates will commence training in the Garda College in the coming months.
To inform future decisions around the optimal use of Reserves, An Garda Síochána is conducting a strategic review as set out in the Policing Plan 2018. As a first step, the Garda Executive has taken a decision to transfer the management of the Reserve to the Assistant Commissioner with responsibility for Community Engagement. This is intended to ensure that its development and deployment is viewed more broadly through a community policing lens. This is a very welcome step as it is my strong view that the greatest dividend to be gained from the Reserve is in terms of a visible presence on the ground and engaging with local communities.
The attached table, as supplied by the Commissioner, sets out the latest figures for Reserve Gardaí by Division only as the data is not compiled by district or sub-district.
Donegal, DMR south, Louth, Limerick Garda Reserve numbers 2009-2018
|
Year |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018* |
|
Donegal |
12 |
21 |
25 |
28 |
28 |
26 |
27 |
21 |
16 |
14 |
|
DMR south |
29 |
43 |
43 |
47 |
51 |
45 |
35 |
26 |
20 |
17 |
|
Louth |
15 |
31 |
34 |
45 |
55 |
52 |
41 |
33 |
25 |
23 |
|
Limerick |
16 |
32 |
41 |
47 |
52 |
51 |
53 |
36 |
29 |
26 |
