Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Ceist:860. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated full year cost of employing ten new administration staff located in An Garda Síochána. [33731/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 24 July 2018
Ceisteanna (860)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will appreciate that it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for carrying on and managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána, including by arranging for the recruitment and training of personnel. Further, the allocation of Garda resources and distribution of personnel are a matter for the Commissioner, in light of the availability of resources and his identified operational demands.
As of 31 May 2018, there were approximately 2,300 civilians undertaking administrative, professional, technical and industrial support duties within An Garda Síochána. The Government has agreed an overall vision for a Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 to include 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. The projected 4,000 civilians, which will effectively double the current number, represents a medium-term target of 20% of the Garda full-time workforce comprised of civilians.
Progress is being made in relation to civilianisation. Since the beginning of 2017 approximately 290 new civilian posts have been sanctioned by the Policing Authority with the consent of my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The bulk were to address critical skills gaps and capacity issues with a proportion sanctioned to make a start on the redeployment of Gardaí to policing duties. Of particular significance is that a number of civilians have been appointed to newly created senior leadership posts at Executive Director level to take responsibility for Strategy & Transformation and Legal & Compliance.
Current civilian positions in An Garda Síochána range from clerical support and financial management functions to specialised roles in HR, IT and telecommunications, teaching, finance and procurement, internal audit, communications, research and analysis, accommodation, scene-of-crime support, legal and medical services. In addition, civilians also work in operational areas including the Garda Central Vetting Bureau, the Garda information Service Centre, the Fixed Charge Processing Office and the Command and Control Centre. These offices have a large number of civilian staff.
I have been informed by the Garda authorities that the cost of employing ten new civilian staff is approximately €430,000. This was calculated by using an average estimated cost per civilian employee of approximately €43,000.