Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Ceist:883. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the population to Garda ratio. [33757/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 24 July 2018
Ceisteanna (883, 884)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Ceist:884. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the population to Garda station ratio. [33758/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 883 and 884 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 recent census data is currently being incorporated into the personnel allocation model. I understand that Census information received on a specific county format is amended by the Garda Síochána Analysis Service to reflect Garda Divisional boundaries. However, it should be noted that ratios such as the number of Garda per head of population are not an appropriate tool to use when considering the allocation of Garda resources as they fail to take account of, among other things, the fact that crime levels and types can vary significantly among communities of similar population size. The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the population to Garda and station ratio is not readily available in my Department as the recording of the population by area is a matter for the Central Statistics Office.
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, funding has been provided for the recruitment of up to 500 further civilians 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.