Press release
Minister Flanagan welcomes 201 new members to An Garda Síochána
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Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, has today welcomed 201 new members to An Garda Síochána following their attestation at the Garda Training College, Templemore.
Minister Flanagan congratulated the 201 new recruits which will now be deployed to serve communities all around the country. He also welcomed the increasing diversity or the organisation.
Today’s ceremony brings to 3,200 the number of new Gardaí that have attested and been assigned to frontline policing duties since the reopening of the Garda Training College in 2014. The re-organisation of Garda structures, through the new operating model, is also assisting in freeing up additional resources for frontline Gardaí.
Minister Flanagan emphasised:
"This is taking place alongside the ongoing programme of Garda recruitment and civilianisation….Civilianisation has seen Garda staff numbers rise by over 47% since the end of 2016 to a total of almost 3,000 today."
The Minister noted both legal reforms and Garda initiatives underway that are ensuring a more victim centred approach in the criminal justice system.
Speaking on the eve of European Day for Victims of Crime, Minister Flanagan welcomed the new Victims Charter, which he launched earlier this morning:
"The Charter, which details the service and supports offered by the State and voluntary groups who work with victims of crime, can be found at the dedicated website victimscharter.ie. It also describes the criminal justice system from the perspective of a victim of crime and explains what they can expect when interacting with it."
Minister Flanagan also welcomed the steps taken by An Garda Síochána to respond to the needs of victims. These include the establishment of Garda Victim Support Offices in all Garda divisions, staffed by specially trained personnel responsible for ensuring that victims of crime are kept informed as their case progresses through the criminal justice system. The Minister also highlighted the continuing roll-out of Divisional Protective Services Units across the country.
Concluding his remarks, the Minister reminded the probationers that:
"…effective policing depends on securing the confidence, support and cooperation of communities. Gardaí have always worked with the most vulnerable in our society – through the caring and supportive delivery of community policing; and in dealing sensitively with victims of crime. This is a proud tradition that I have no doubt you will adopt as your own."
ENDS
This is the first of four attestations scheduled to take place in 2020. Approximately 600 new Garda members attested and were posted to mainstream policing duties in communities across the country in 2019. We are expecting approximately 800 to attest by the end of 2020. Total Garda strength has now risen to over 14,400.
Today’s attestation brings the total number of attestations since the reopening of the Garda College in 2014 to approximately 3,200 by end 2020.
Of the 201 probationers that attested on 21 February 2020, 19 were born outside of the jurisdiction. There are 19 Probationer Gardaí in this Intake born outside the State - in Germany, Romania, England, USA, Latvia, Australia, Hong Kong, Poland and Italy.
28% of the probationer Gardaí that attested today are women. The number of women in An Garda Síochána has steadily increased. Today there are 57 women attesting and 144 men.
Government allocated €1.882 billion to the Garda Vote for 2020, an increase of 7% on last year’s allocation, and capital investment of €116.5 million is being made in An Garda Síochána. This will facilitate continued investment in ICT, the Garda fleet and the Garda estate.
The budgetary allocation to An Garda Síochána for 2020 will allow the Garda Commissioner to recruit up to 700 new Gardaí and additional Garda Staff in 2020, the balance of which will be for the Commissioner to determine based on operational needs. This funding for sustained recruitment ensures that An Garda Síochána remains on track to reach the government target of an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 by 2021.
The new and expanded Victims Charter was launched today, 21 February and is available online at the dedicated website victimscharter.ie. It outlines the rights of victims throughout the different stages of the criminal justice system, following the reporting of a crime.
It provides information on the services available to victims and sets out: