Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator again for raising this important matter and I will pass on his comments and views to the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. The Government, which we both support and are members of, continues to prioritise unprecedented resource allocation to An Garda Síochána. This is about making sure the operating model ensures that those resources deliver in the best possible way for communities. The Garda budget provided by the Government is over €2 billion for the current year, and as the Senator will be aware, An Garda Síochána registered strong interest in its latest recruitment competition earlier this year, with over 10,000 applications received. Additionally and importantly, over 800 Garda members have been redeployed in recent years from administrative duties to front-line policing roles, where their expertise can be utilised fully in line with the commission's recommendations.

The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends to ensure their optimum use. The Minister has also informed me, so I can inform the Senator, that there are no plans to change the staffing or resource levels of Salthill Garda station or to change its opening hours from the current 24 hours.