James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter, about which I know he is deeply concerned. The Minister wants to be clear that the incidences of assault or intimidation are completely unacceptable. We want people to feel and be safe, whether they live or work in Dublin city centre or want to visit and enjoy our capital city.

Obviously, the distribution and management of gardaí is a matter for the Garda Commissioner, but as of 31 January 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, 712 Garda members were assigned to the DMR south central division. This represents an increase of more than 13.5% since December 2015, when 627 Garda members were assigned to the division.

The unprecedented €2 billion funding allocated for An Garda Síochána in budget 2022 reflects the commitment the Government has to increasing the number of gardaí throughout the country, including increasing the resources available to those gardaí to help them do their jobs. This will facilitate and fund the recruitment of 800 additional gardaí in the coming period, and 400 additional Garda staff. There is a policy within An Garda Síochána of hiring staff to release Garda members from administrative and desk duties and putting them back on to the front line, which has proven to be very effective. As the Deputy will be aware, a new recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána has opened and I encourage people to apply.

The Minister is confident that the continued concerted focus on further increasing the number of Garda members and staff, together with the ongoing redeployment of gardaí from administrative to front-line roles, will help strengthen the gardaí and strengthen the focus on community policing. This will deliver significant growth in the operational policing hours nationwide and improve visibility and services to local communities across the country, including Dublin city centre.

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