Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Ceist:866. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of forensic accountants dedicated to tackling white collar crime. [33739/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 24 July 2018
Ceisteanna (866)
Freagraí scríofa
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 informed by the Garda Commissioner that the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) (formerly the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation) was established on 1 September 2016. The Bureau has dedicated expert staff, including professional forensic accountants, to address white-collar and other fraud and economic crimes. I am further informed by the Commissioner that as of 31 May 2018, the latest date for which figures are available there were 68 Garda and 17 Garda civilian staff assigned to the GNECB including 3 Forensic Accountants. Garda management continue to review the needs of the Bureau to enable it to fully realise to the aims of the MRP and to ensure that An Garda Síochána maximises it capability to investigate emerging forms of economic crime.
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.
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 as new Garda recruits come on stream. The work of local Gardaí is also 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 and these specialist units are also receiving significant investment.
I am informed by the Commissioner that since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, almost 2,000 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide. 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. This year a further 800 new Garda Recruits will enter the Garda College and we 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 and I am pleased that funding is in place to maintain this high level of investment in the Garda workforce to ensure that the overall vision for 2021 remains on track. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Commissioner with the resources to fight all types of Criminal activity including white collar crime.
For the Deputy's information, the following tables, as supplied by the Commissioner, sets out the latest figures as requested.
Civilian Strength of Economic Crime Bureau 31 May 2018
|
- |
Other |
EO |
CO |
TOTAL |
|
Economic Crime Bureau |
3 |
11 |
14 |
|
|
Accountant Grade II |
3 |
3 |
Strength of Garda Economic Crime Bureau 31 May 2018
|
- |
CR |
DC |
AC |
CS |
SU |
IN |
SG |
GD |
TOTAL |
|
Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (formerly Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
47 |
68 |
Question No. 867 answered with Question No. 854.