Garda Resources

QUESTION NOS:  47 to 52

DÁIL QUESTIONS addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald)
by Deputy Darragh O'Brien
for WRITTEN on Thursday, 2nd February, 2017.  

 
 *  47.  “To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda numbers in the R District, Dublin North for each of the years 2010 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter”

*  48.  “To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda numbers for the Malahide Garda station in north Dublin for each of the years 2010 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter”

*  49.  “To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda numbers for the Swords Garda station in north Dublin for each of the years 2010 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter”

*  50.  “To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda numbers for the Balbriggan Garda station in north Dublin for each of the years 2010 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter”

*  51.  “To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda numbers for the Lusk Garda station in north Dublin for each of the years 2010 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter”
                                                          
*  52.  “To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda numbers for the Garristown Garda station in north Dublin for each of the years 2010 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter”

   - REPLY.

   
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources.

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 deter crime.  To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. This year, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Appointments will also be made to the Garda Reserve of approximately 300.

Since the reopening of the Garda College, 679 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, with a further 152 attesting today. To date 66 of these probationer Gardaí have been assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North Division.  I am informed by the Commissioner that another 750 trainee Garda are scheduled to attest this year which will bring Garda numbers to around the 13,500 mark by year end. 

This focus on investment in personnel is critical. 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 she needs to allow her to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí across all Garda Divisions.

This investment in personnel is complemented by substantial investment in resources across the board for An Garda Síochána. The Deputy will be aware of the significant resources that have been made available to An Garda Síochána under the Government's Capital Plan 2016 - 2021.  In particular, some €205 million in additional funding for Garda ICT and €46 million for new Garda vehicles has been allocated over the lifetime of the plan. This investment will facilitate the provision of more effective policing services and I have no doubt that these new resources now coming on stream will benefit all areas of Garda activity.

For the Deputy's information I have set out below in tabular form the information requested by station from 2006 to 31 December 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available from the Commissioner.

GARDA   STRENGTH DMR NORTH DIVISION 
STATION        2010     2011    2012    2013    2014    2015    2016
MALAHIDE        37          35        34         34        30         39        31
SWORDS          84           77        77         74        70         65        72
COOLOCK       120        117      114       112      109      103      105
LUSK                     7            6            8         10        10        10        10
BALBRIGGAN   68         70          69         64        62        64        69
GARRISTOWN    3            3            2           2          2           2          2


QUESTION NO:  53

DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald)
by Deputy Darragh O'Brien
for WRITTEN on Thursday, 2nd February, 2017.  

 
“To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Gardaí in the drugs unit in the R District, Dublin North for each of the years 2010 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter”.

                                                             - 
REPLY.
  
As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and Units and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that the allocation of Gardaí is continually monitored and reviewed taking into account all relevant factors including crime trends, demographics, and security assessments relating to the area in question so as to ensure optimal use is made of Garda human resources. 

It is important to note that all Gardaí have a responsibility in the prevention and detection of criminal activity whether it be in the area of drug offences or otherwise.  I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána continues to pro-actively and resolutely tackle all forms of drug crime in this jurisdiction. The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau leads out the policing strategy for tackling drugs supply and works closely with dedicated Divisional Drugs units and other national units, including the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in targeting persons involved in the illicit sale and supply of drugs. This approach allows for the co-ordinated use of Garda resources in tackling all forms of organised crime, including illicit drug activity nationwide.

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 deter crime.  To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan to achieve 

an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. This year, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Appointments will also be made to the Garda Reserve of approximately 300.

Since the reopening of the Garda College, 679 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide, with a further 152 attesting today. To date 66 of these  probationer Gardaí have been assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North Division.  I am informed by the Commissioner that another 750 trainee Garda are scheduled to attest this year which will bring Garda numbers to around the 13,500 mark by year end. 

This focus on investment in personnel is critical. 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 she needs to allow her to deploy increasing numbers of Gardaí across the organisation including the Divisional Drugs Units.
 
The investment in personnel is complemented by substantial investment in resources across the board for An Garda Síochána. The Deputy will be aware of the significant resources that have been made available to An Garda Síochána under the Government's Capital Plan 2016 - 2021.  In particular, some €205 million in additional funding for Garda ICT and €46 million for new Garda vehicles has been allocated over the lifetime of the plan. This investment will facilitate the provision of more effective policing services and support An Garda Síochána in tackling illicit drug activity.

I am advised by the Commissioner that Garda Drug Unit personnel are assigned on a Divisional basis and that the Garda District referred to by the Deputy is part of the DMR North Division.  The table below gives a breakdown of the number of Garda members assigned to the DMR North Divisional Drugs Unit in each of the years 2010 to 2016 as of 31 December 2016.  

DMR NORTH  DIVISIONAL DRUGS UNIT
YEAR    STRENGTH
2010    34
2011    32
2012    31
2013    27
2014    16
2015    25
2016    21