Mr. Drew Harris:

I point to Operation Citizen, which has been ongoing throughout 2022 and into 2023. The additional funding in this regard was provided by the Government in the summer in response to serious incidents that occurred in the city centre and the subsequent public outcry in this respect. I refer as well to the uplift there has been in terms of the numbers of gardaí who have been on patrol since then, and throughout Operation Citizen. Dedicated gardaí have been appointed to Operation Citizen and their responsibility is patrolling what we would call the north central and south central divisions, namely, the city centre on either side of O'Connell Bridge. This has been a facet of our operations.

In the coming period up to Christmas, obviously, we want to have a public order response, but also a very visible uniformed response. The issue for me now is going to be around prioritisation. We put a lot of effort into things like street crime and low-level drug dealing, etc., and there will have to be a refocusing towards having visibility on the streets. We recognise that in terms of our police work in the city centre, no matter how many arrests we are making, etc., it is not having the same impact as the issues around visibility. I point to the fact, however, that this year, up to the end of October, we made 11,000 arrests between the north central and south central divisions. This is a large number. What is clear is that we will not be able to arrest and prosecute our way out of this problem on our own. This situation requires a response beyond the actions of An Garda Síochána. We have done a great deal of police work and we have put resources on the ground. There is more we will have to do, but this will require a redirection and reprioritisation of resources.