Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy that there are certain duties, such as security in the Courts Service, that could be carried out by a private company rather than using the valuable time of gardaí. As of 31 May there were 81 Garda staff assigned to the Limerick division. This represents an increase of more than 58% since December 2015 when there were 51 Garda staff members assigned to the division. An Garda Síochána has been allocated an unprecedented budget of €1.952 billion for 2021. This level of funding is enabling sustained, ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff. As a result, Garda numbers are approximately 14,500 Garda members, and more than 3,000 Garda staff nationwide. I will raise with the Garda Commissioner the matter raised by the Deputy.

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