Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. I thank Deputy Gannon for raising it. In fairness to the Deputy, he has raised it on many occasions.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Government's approach to the misuse of drugs is set out in Ireland's national drug strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery. This is a health-led approach to drug and alcohol use in Ireland and it represents a whole-of-government response to reduce demand and associated harm. The Government is also committed to limiting access to illegal drugs to the greatest extent possible.

At a local level, An Garda Síochána continues to target those involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs through Operation Tara. Operation Tara, which has a strong focus on tackling street-level dealing across the country, also seeks to disrupt and dismantle the drug trafficking networks that impact on our communities and prosecute those involved at every level. Recent successes of Operation Tara include the seizure of €500,000 worth of drugs in County Kildare on 5 January, €235,000 worth of heroin in Dublin and Meath on 3 January and a further €80,000 worth of various drugs in Dublin on 16 January.

Let us also not forget that in 2023, Ireland saw the largest drug seizure in our history when a vessel carrying a significant quantity of controlled drugs was intercepted off the southern coast. These drugs were almost certainly destined for the Irish market but, thankfully, the vessel was intercepted and the drugs seized before they reached our communities.

More generally, An Garda Síochána has received an unprecedented budget of over €2.35 billion for 2024, including provision for the recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 gardaí. The Garda Commissioner has assured the Minister, Deputy McEntee, that whatever resources are needed to ensure the continuation of high visibility policing in Dublin, they will be made available. In the past year, 280 new gardaí have been assigned to the Dublin region, including 115 since mid-December, adding to the resources that Garda management have available to provide a high visibility policing service in the city centre and beyond.

There are a number of ongoing Garda operations in Dublin to combat crime and antisocial behaviour. Operation Citizen continues to reassure the citizens, visitors and business community that Dublin city centre is a safe place to visit and socialise in.

Community safety is about people being safe and, importantly, feeling safe in their own community. The Dublin North Inner Local Community Safety Partnership continues to ensure that local communities and service providers work together to identify the actions needed specific to their local community to ensure it is a safe place to live, work in and visit. There is also the north inner city task force, which is chaired by Mr. Jim Gavin.

In line with these goals, the Minister was pleased to launch the Dublin partnership safety plan last September. The plan outlines 50 actions across five priority areas aimed at addressing community safety concerns in the north inner city, including drug-dealing, antisocial behaviour and improving the physical environment.

In my role as Minister of State with responsibility for local government, I gave a commitment to the Deputy that I would make contact with the new CEO of Dublin City Council, Mr. Richard Shakespeare, and I have done so. The Deputy is probably aware that the council launched a new antisocial behaviour strategy in December. It is increasing the number or staff in the antisocial behaviour unit from three to seven and is in the process of recruiting the extra staff. The unit, which will be headed up by a senior executive officer with seven staff, will deal with one aspect, namely, antisocial behaviour.

I appreciate the concerns of the community the Deputy represents. That is the up-to-date position from the Minister for Justice on Garda resources and operations. I have also outlined my interaction with Dublin City Council as Minister of State with responsibility for local government. I await the Deputy's further contribution.

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