Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Operation Thor is a multi-strand national operation which builds on previous and current Garda operations to tackle crime, particularly burglaries. It builds on the substantial investment, restarted by the Government, in recruiting new gardaí and vehicles. All of these resources are available to the Garda Commissioner to delegate, as she sees appropriate.

This year the Clare division has been allocated ten newly attested gardaí and extra vehicles. The 2016 budget allocation of €1.5 billion for An Garda Síochána includes over €67 million in additional funding which will allow the recruitment of 600 new gardaí next year, on top of the 550 recruited since the Government reopened the Garda College in 2014. It will also provide additional funding for special operations such as Operation Thor. This builds on the high level of investment of €34 million we have seen already. In this context, the Deputy will appreciate that it is not possible to detail the additional resources available in any one county, although information is available on the extra gardaí locally. Extra gardaí have been allocated to every division following the new recruitment drive. This week another 600 recruit places have been advertised, in which there is already significant interest. This will allow for further operations across the country. Operation Thor involves disrupting mobile gangs across the country and we are already seeing some successes under it. I will have a report shortly on its first month in operation.

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