Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 629: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of arrests made under Operation Fiacla; the number of Garda engaged in the operation; the timeframe for the operation; the number of regional arms of the operation and their details; the amount of money spent on the operation to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36854/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that Operation Fiacla is running for 12 months initially, with effect from February 2012. The Operation is the subject of regular review by senior Garda management. The Operation is focused on identifying and targeting mobile gangs involved in burglaries around the country so as to disrupt their activities and bring them before the Courts.

Operation Fiacla is intelligence driven and specific burglary initiatives have been implemented in each Garda Region to target suspect offenders. These initiatives optimise the use of existing structures and local Garda management ensure that all personnel are fully briefed on the initiative, with Divisional Crime Management Teams playing a key coordination and implementation role.

I am further informed that to date over 1,300 persons have been arrested and in excess of 800 charges have been proffered. A dedicated budget has not been established for this initiative and it would necessitate a disproportionate amount of Garda time and resources to calculate this. However, every effort is made by Garda management, under the remit of the respective regional policing plans prepared under Operation Fiacla, for duty associated with these initiatives to be conducted as part of routine, rostered, policing duties.