Dáil Question on Garda Allocation Per County

QUESTION NO: 589

DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald)
by Deputy Anthony Lawlor
for WRITTEN on Tuesday, 3rd November, 2015.
* To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the locations where newly trained Gardaí from Templemore, since it has re-opened, have been allocated, by county; if priority has been given to counties where there are Garda shortages, such as in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

– Anthony Lawlor
REPLY.
As the Deputy will appreciate the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel, including new probationer Gardaí, among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of resources.

This Government is committed to the ongoing recruitment of trainee Gardaí, and to this end the first intake since 2009 of new recruits commenced training at the Garda College, Templemore, in September of last year.

To date there has been five intakes of Garda Trainees to the Garda College, giving a total intake of 475. A further 75 recruits will enter college by year end, bringing total recruitment of Garda Trainees to 550. So far 295 of the new Garda Trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána. On attestation, new Probationer Gardaí are assigned to Garda stations throughout the country by the Garda Commissioner, where they are assigned to mainstream uniform policing duties. I am assured by Garda management that the needs of all Garda Divisions are fully considered when determining the allocation of newly attested Gardaí. The table below sets out breakdown per Division of the locations of where the newly trained Gardaí from Templemore have been allocated. The Deputy will note that 15 Probationer Gardaí have been assigned to the Kildare Division this year, the highest allocation outside of the Dublin region.

The increased budget allocation for An Garda Síochána in 2016 which I recently announced, provides for the recruitment of 600 new Gardaí in addition to the 550 that will be recruited by year end. This will bring the total number of trainee Gardai recruited to 1,150 by the end of 2016. The ongoing recruitment of new Gardaí is crucial to An Garda Síochána and for the safety of communities throughout the State. This ramped-up recruitment underscores the determination of this Government to deliver an effective, responsive police service to protect our communities and respond to emerging crime trends.

Distribution of Probationer Gardaí 2015 by Division
DMR East 10

DMR North 19

DMR North Central 23

DMR South 19

DMR South Central 20

DMR West 30
Kildare 15

Laois/Offaly 9

Meath 5

Westmeath 5

Wicklow 10 Cavan/Monaghan 10

Donegal 10

Louth 10

Sligo/Leitrim 5

Kilkenny/Carlow 10

Tipperary 5

Waterford 14

Wexford 15

Cork City 7

Cork North 0

Cork West 5

Kerry 10

Limerick 9

Clare 10

Galway 5

Mayo 5

Roscommon/Longford 0