Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 45: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, having regard to the obvious increase in organised crime, he will ensure the allocation of sufficient personnel, technology, expertise and resources to combating the problem; if his attention has been drawn to the need for immediate action in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15677/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Government's top policing priority for 2006 is to continue to target organised crime, including drug trafficking and the gun culture associated with it, through the use of specialist units and targeted, intelligence-led operations. I assure the Deputy that I am in regular contact with the Garda Commissioner in order to keep the measures and resources for tackling serious crime under continuing review and to this end, I will continue to ensure that every necessary resource is made available to the Garda Síochána.

In this regard, I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that the personnel strength, all ranks, of the Garda Síochána as at 31 March 2006 was 12,439. This compares with a total strength of 10,702, all ranks, as at 30 June 1997 and represents an increase of 1,737, or 16.2%, in the personnel strength of the force during that period.

The recruitment drive to increase the strength of the Garda Síochána to 14,000 members in line with the commitment in An Agreed Programme for Government is fully on target. This will lead to a combined strength, of both attested gardaí and recruits in training, of 14,000 by the end of this year. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the first group of newly attested gardaí under the accelerated recruitment programme came on stream in March and a further 275 newly attested gardaí will come on stream every 90 days from here on in.

In financial terms, too, the Garda Síochána has never been as well resourced, with the 2006 budget at an historic high of €1.275 billion. In particular, the 2006 overtime allocation has risen to €83.5 million, which represents a major increase of 36.6% over the allocation of €61.1 million for 2005 and will allow the Garda Síochána to intensify further its crime detection and investigation capabilities.

Operation Anvil commenced in the Dublin metropolitan region on 17 May 2005 with a view to addressing the problem of serious crime such as gun crime, robberies and burglaries and combating an emerging gun culture. At my request, Operation Anvil is being extended outside the Dublin metropolitan region during 2006. I have also obtained funding to enable Operation Anvil to continue as long as it is deemed necessary in operational policing terms. Operation anvil has contributed to encouraging successes across a number of headings. As of 23 April this year, 505 firearms have been seized or recovered and 2,314 arrests have been made.

The Garda Síochána employs a range of techniques and expertise in the fight against organised crime. The establishment of specialist Garda units, operating under the assistant commissioner in charge of national support services, has enabled the Garda Síochána to tackle organised crime more effectively. The National Bureau of Criminal Investigation is the Garda specialist unit charged with the role of tackling organised crime. It carries out this role by conducting intelligence-driven operations in close co-operation with other specialist units including the Garda national drugs unit, the Garda bureau of fraud investigation and the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The Garda authorities are also satisfied that the technology required to assist in the fight against crime is available to them. The Garda Síochána constantly evaluates all available technology with a view to determining the technology best suited to its needs. Significant resources are being invested in technology for the Garda Síochána to assist it in the exercise of all its functions. The capital allocation for information technology in 2006 is €33.323 million. The allocation for communications is €12.9 million.