Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the drug squad numbers in each Garda division for each of the past five years and to date in 2017, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15750/17]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to ask the Tánaiste about the drugs squad numbers in each division, for each of the past five years and to date in 2017, and if she will make a statement on the matter. We have seen how drugs squad personnel numbers have haemorrhaged in recent years with certain districts such as Cavan and Monaghan without any drugs unit at all. Given the massive amount of gangland activity in Dublin and elsewhere, perhaps the Tánaiste will explain what is being done at a divisional level to ensure that places - at the very least - have some unit, and if the issue is being given attention politically and by the gardaí. Have there been any changes since I last asked this question of the Tánaiste?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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5 o’clock

As the Deputy will be aware all gardaí have a responsibility in the prevention and detection of criminal activity whether it be in the area of drug offences or otherwise. I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána continues to pro-actively and resolutely tackle all forms of drug crime in this jurisdiction.

In 2015 the Garda Commissioner, who is responsible for the allocation of Garda resources, established a new national drugs and organised crime bureau. The bureau has been working with divisional drug units in tackling supply reduction at local level. This work is further supported by other national units including, as the Deputy will know, the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, in targeting persons involved in the illicit sale and supply of drugs. We made some changes to legislation recently in this regard. It is about using all of the Garda resources to deal with the drugs issue. It is not just about those who are working within the drugs units, it is about working overall with the other units.

The fact that we now have recruitment is significant. I cannot say it often enough. We need recruitment in order to have new people working in these specialist units. That is under way and its impact will be to augment those units in the period ahead.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Furthermore, the drugs and organised crime bureau has continued to make significant seizures of controlled drugs as evidenced by a number of significant seizures made in January this year including a huge seizure of herbal cannabis - estimated at that time to have a street value of over €30 million - made as a result of a targeted joint operation involving An Garda Síochána and Revenue's Customs and Excise service.

Multidisciplinary approaches are also utilised to ensure that those involved in illicit activity are effectively targeted including through the use of the proceeds of crime legislation, money-laundering legislation and the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

I am informed that this approach adopts good practice in implementing a co-ordinated use of Garda resources and in utilising available criminal law to its fullest extent in tackling all forms of organised crime, including drug trafficking.

This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime. To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. This year, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide-ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Funding has also been provided for the recruitment of 300 members of the Garda Reserve.

This focus on investment in personnel is critical. The moratorium on recruitment introduced in 2010 resulted in a significant reduction in the strength of An Garda Síochána. We are now rebuilding the organisation and providing the Commissioner with the resources she needs to allow her to deploy increasing numbers of gardaí across the organisation including the divisional drugs units.

The investment in personnel is complemented by substantial investment in resources across the board for An Garda Síochána. The Deputy will be aware of the significant resources that have been made available to An Garda Síochána under the Government's capital plan 2016-2021. In particular, approximately €205 million in additional funding for Garda ICT and €46 million for new Garda vehicles has been allocated over the lifetime of the plan. This investment will facilitate the provision of more effective policing services and support An Garda Síochána in tackling illicit drug activity.

For ease of reference I have provided below a breakdown of the detailed information requested in respect of the drug squad numbers in each Garda division for each of the past five years and to 28 February 2017, the latest date for which figures are readily available.

Drugs Unit Personnel 2012-2017

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Tánaiste and echo her point about the Criminal Assets Bureau. In terms of staffing allocations, in the five years in which we saw a haemorrhaging of numbers in the divisional drug units, the Criminal Assets Bureau kept the number of gardaí allocated to it and its budget remained relatively stable. That was a portion of justice policy that delivered and kept the priority in place in terms of funding and staff. In contrast, the divisional drug unit numbers are really shocking in that we have seen massive reductions across the board. Some counties have no drug unit whatsoever, which gives carte blancheto dealers to operate at whatever level they want. I recognise there has been an increase in recruitment but it needs to be prioritised, as was the Criminal Assets Bureau, in order that we keep proper staffing thresholds in place to address what will be a constant matter for us all.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Whether we are talking about the work of the armed response unit in Dublin or the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau, all of this is targeted at getting intelligence on and interrupting the work of criminal gangs, many of which are involved in the exploitation of people through trafficking, as well as in drugs criminality. All of the efforts of the broader work of An Garda Síochána is targeted at these criminal gangs. While the personnel in the drugs unit have a very specific role, I emphasise the point that the broader work of An Garda Síochána of interrupting the activities of criminal gangs clearly impacts on the availability of drugs. I am sure the Deputy accepts we have seen very significant seizures by the Garda in respect of the drugs trade, which continues to be extremely serious and on a huge scale not just in Ireland but internationally. I take the Deputy's point about the importance of this work.