Breaking: Donegal to remain as standalone Garda Division

Donegal will remain as a standalone Garda Division, it has been confirmed.

A proposal to amalgamate Donegal into a three-county Division with Sligo and Leitrim has been shelved following a review.

Following a review requested by the Garda Commissioner and conducted by an Assistant Commissioner, the Garda Senior Leadership Team has decided to re-configure the composition of certain three-county Divisions under the Garda Operating Model.

The three-county Divisions reviewed were: Laois/Offaly/Kildare; Waterford/Kilkenny/Carlow; Donegal/Sligo/Leitrim.

Under the revised Divisional structures, the Divisions will be: Waterford/Kilkenny; Kildare/Carlow; Laois/Offaly; Sligo/Leitrim; Donegal.

Senior Gardai in Donegal, as well as the Donegal Public Participation Network (PPN), who represent 653 community groups across the county, had urged the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, to keep Donegal as a stand-alone Division.

The PPN pointed out that Donegal has a 100km border with Northern Ireland and is in close proximity to large urban centres like Derry, Strabane and Enniskillen. The presence of an international airport at Carrickfinn and five fishing ports in the county were also highlighted in correspondence to the Garda Commissioner.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA), whose President Brendan O’Connor is based in Donegal, was also  against the proposed amalgamation.

"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,” a Garda spokesperson said.

“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 review took into account the population and demographic changes in the country since the development of the original Operating Model structure in 2018, as well as projected population and demographic trends in the coming years. It looked at the number of incidents in the relevant Divisions, along with their operational and community needs. Staffing and accommodation were also factored into the review.

The changes announced, 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.

There are currently 448 Garda personnel employed in the Donegal Division, assisted by 64 Garda civilian staff. That 512 total is up from the 436 tally in 2017, which included 404 Gardai.