Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 October 2019
126. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has carried out or commissioned research on the optimum number of sworn gardaí needed to effectively police the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43719/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for carrying on, managing and generally controlling the administration and business of An Garda Síochána, including issues relating to personnel and the distribution of personnel. Garda management keeps staffing and deployment requirements under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use.
The Government decided in July 2016 to increase the number of Gardaí to 15,000 and Garda staff to a total of 4,000 by 2021 and very significant progress has already been made towards that goal. As part of that plan, there is ongoing and increased recruitment of new Gardaí and Garda staff, allowing for redeployment of Gardaí to operational duties at the front-line. There are now over 14,200 Gardaí nationwide, supported by over 2,800 civilian staff.
In fact, since the re-opening of the Garda Training College in 2014, approximately 2,800 new Garda members have attested and been assigned to front-line policing duties in communities throughout the country. Another 200 probationer Gardaí are due to attest by the end of this year.
In line with the recommendation of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, it is for the Commissioner to decide and balance the organisation's needs within the resources allocated to him. For example, in addition to recruiting 600 Gardaí the Commissioner decided this year to recruit an additional 600 Garda staff in 2019. This will in turn allow for the redeployment of approximately 500 experienced Gardaí to front-line policing duties by the end of this year.
In addition, as recommended in the Commission's report, An Garda Síochána is currently conducting a strategic review of the Garda Reserve to inform future decisions around its use. The strategy is expected to inform the development and preparation for a new Reserve recruitment drive by the end of 2019. I understand that a class of 100 reserves commenced training in March and, as of 31 August, there are 473 reserves across the organisation.
Finally, it may be noted that unprecedented resources are currently being provided to An Garda Síochána. €1.76 billion has been allocated to the Garda Vote for 2019, as well as capital investment amounting to € 92 million this year. I am pleased to have secured an overall increase of €122 million to increase An Garda Síochána’s budget for 2020 to an unprecedented €1.882 billion for next year in addition to €116million in capital investment. This level of funding will allow the Garda Commissioner to recruit up to 700 new Gardaí next year and additional Garda staff.
This ongoing investment is intended to support growth in the organisation as well as the ambitious Garda reform plan, with the overall goal of ensuring a visible, professional and effective policing service to all our communities, urban and rural, now and into the future.
