Donegal is set to remain as its own standalone Garda Division following a u-turn on the proposed amalgamation with Sligo and Leitrim.
Serious concerns were raised over the possible depletion of services if Donegal policing was to be merged with other counties.
The size of the county and recent incidents of crime raised fears over a potential loss of resources in the county. The Joint Policing Committee and senior gardaí were among those calling for the merge to be abandoned.
It’s been confirmed today that the Garda Senior Leadership Team has decided to re-configure the composition of certain three-county Divisions and retain Donegal as a division on its own. The decision follows a review requested by the Garda Commissioner and conducted by an Assistant Commissioner.
The composition of certain three-county Divisions under the Garda Operating Model have been revised as follows:
– Waterford/Kilkenny
– Kildare/Carlow
– Laois/Offaly
– Sligo/Leitrim
– Donegal
Under the Operating Model, Garda Divisions are headed by a Divisional Chief Superintendent, who oversee four newly defined functional areas: Business Services; Performance and Assurance; Crime; and Community Engagement. Each of these functional areas is led by a Superintendent, with the exception of Business Services, which is led by an Assistant Principal Officer.
According to a Garda spokesperson, “The revised Divisional structures will most effectively deliver the benefits of the Operating Model by supporting a more balanced level of service demand across the Divisions. It will also increase the capacity of Divisional Management teams allowing for effective service provision, and greater oversight and governance.
“The next phase of the review will see a further feasibility and detailed impact assessment completed to determine the timeline for deployment of the revised Divisional structures.
“There will be no impact on our service to the public in the relevant Divisions during the transition to the revised Divisional Model.
“An Garda Síochána remains fully committed to delivering the Operating Model in a timely manner and realising its full benefits across the entire organisation which includes increased specialist services in areas such as domestic violence and sexual crime, and cyber-crime delivered at local level.
‘We are continuing to work diligently towards achieving this goal.”
The changes announced today when implemented will see the number of Garda Divisions go from 19 to 21. Before the introduction of the Garda Operating Model, there were 28 Garda Divisions. The Garda Operating Model has also seen the number of Garda Regions reduce from six to four.
