Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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First of all, I reiterate the view shared by many that the rioting and violent disorder we saw in Dublin on 23 November was a disgrace. As the Deputy knows, those horrific scenes followed the tragic knife attack outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire that lunchtime. Again, I am sure Deputy Daly and others will join me in wishing the victims of that attack, especially the five-year-old girl and her carer, a speedy recovery. I also commend the Garda Commissioner and all the gardaí involved throughout that day on their strong and effective response in restoring order to the city. I place on record again my appreciation of all the emergency services, the various support services and the local authority for their work in dealing with all aspects of the attack and the subsequent disturbances.

I am committed to supporting An Garda Síochána in its mission of keeping people safe. The unprecedented allocation of €2.3 billion for 2024 to An Garda Síochána demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring the force has provision for the equipment, technology, facilities, fleet and personnel it needs to carry out vital policing work. Of course, I want that funding to increase so we can provide even more resources. An additional €4.4 million was allocated for the purchase of 95 additional Garda cars and vans by the end of this year. This will include 17 public order Garda vans that will be deployed in our towns and cities across the country to provide further reassurance for people, businesses and communities, again in response to what happened two weeks ago. It also includes 38 new fully electric patrol cars and 40 unmarked surveillance cars. This is in addition to ten community policing vans that will be ready for deployment shortly.

In light of the riots, the Garda senior management team has agreed on a range of measures to further support front-line gardaí, including tooling all gardaí with stronger incapacitant spray, expanding the dog unit, increasing public order training, providing more Tasers for public order policing and providing handheld video cameras for public order units, among other measures. I am also committed to providing the Garda with any statutory powers it might require to deliver an effective response to public order disturbances.

I am pleased that the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act was signed into law by the President on 5 December. It provides for body-worn cameras, CCTV for the Garda, automatic number plate recognition and community CCTV. The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill, which will allow for facial recognition, was agreed and signed off by the Cabinet today.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. While I acknowledge that the number of resignations this year is slightly higher, our percentage of gardaí is higher than other police jurisdictions. In saying that, we need to ensure everything that can be done to identify why people are leaving is done. I met the Garda Commissioner, the head of HR and other members today. They are currently working on exit interviews. More than 100 have taken place and the Garda will soon be in a position to be able to present me with a full report. A number of things are coming out of that process and we need to be able to be responsive, particularly where concerns are being raised that have caused members to leave early. One of the most important things we can do to supplement the measures I have mentioned in terms of financial supports and resources is to have more gardaí on the ground. That is my number one priority when it comes to supporting the Garda. We hit a particular figure that none of us wanted to get to because the Garda College was closed to new recruits. However, I believe we are now moving at a steady pace and on an upward trajectory. A new Garda Reserve campaign will open in the new year. We have also had competitions for civilian staff to add to those numbers.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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To the Deputy's last point, it has been made clear to me that anybody who is coming from a separate jurisdiction, whether in the outer part of Dublin, a rural community or a county outside Dublin, is doing so in his or her own free time. I know there is a concern that an increased presence in the city centre is taking away from other areas. If gardaí are coming from counties Mayo, Waterford or Donegal, they are doing so in their spare time. We need to make sure of the overall numbers and ensure that not everybody is going to Dublin. While a large number of those coming out of the Garda College will go to Dublin, it will allow for others to be freed up to transfer out of the city. There will, of course, also be numbers who are allocated to areas other than Dublin city centre. Some 150 new gardaí will come out of the college this week. I anticipate a significant number of them will go to Dublin but others will be spread right across the country. It is about getting the overall numbers up. We are doing everything we can, and I am doing everything I can, to provide funding where there is a requirement for additional resources or any other type of equipment that gardaí might need.