23 June 2005

Justice

Number of Gardai in Service

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of gardaí in service at the end of each of the past ten years and his estimate of the number of gardaí that will be in service on 31 December 2005. [

Minister For Justice, Equality and Law Reform: I am informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources including personnel, that the number of gardaí that were in service, all ranks, at the end of each of the past ten years was as set out in the following table. The estimated number of gardaí, all ranks, that will be in service on 31 December 2005 is also set out.

Years Numbers 
1995 10,825 
1996 10,818 
1997 10,968 
1998 11,235 
1999 11,458 
2000 11,640 
2001 11,815 
2002 11,895 
2003 12,017 
2004 12,209 
31 December 2005 12,256 

In terms of Garda resources generally, the accelerated recruitment campaign to reach a record force strength of 14,000, in line with the commitment in An Agreed Programme for Government, is fully on target. This will lead to a combined strength of attested gardaí and recruits in training of 14,000 by the end of 2006. The Garda Commissioner will draw up plans on how best to distribute and manage these additional resources and in this context the overall needs of the Garda Síochána will be fully considered.