David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They forget that and they wipe it out.

I assure the Deputies that Garda management keeps the distribution of the resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities and that the needs of all divisions are taken into account. They have made significant progress in tackling the threat of organised crime, particularly in Dublin's north inner city. Operation Hybrid has been established to co-ordinate the response to violent crime in Dublin and to address public safety concerns about community safety, particularly in the north inner city, and benefits from significant support from the armed support units.

As of 21 January this year, this response had included 72 arrests; 13 charges in total, ten charges related to murder investigations and three charges related to other offences; 34 firearms seized related to murder offences; in the region of 260 searches; and 15,000 lines of inquiry conducted, with more than 50,000 high-visibility checkpoints implemented and with significant support from the armed support units. In addition, a significant amount of CCTV footage, mobile phone traffic and forensic evidence has been examined. The Government also enacted new legislation to further target criminal activities, including the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016, which provides additional powers for gardaí, in particular powers to deal with the immediate seizure of assets suspected of being the proceeds of crime in order to prevent them being disposed of. In addition, the Government's plans for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 is complemented by substantial investment in the Garda fleet and technology across the organisation.

We are now in a position to make real progress and it is being made. The gardaí are being attested in Templemore, there are more gardaí on the streets and there will be more.

See this speech in context