Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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120. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if 68 members of An Garda Síochána are attached to Dundrum Garda station; if 11 are on temporary transfer; if this is a decrease from 86 in February 2016 and 139 in 2009; and when she will review and increase Garda numbers in Dundrum, County Dublin. [14035/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that the allocation of Gardaí is continually monitored and reviewed taking into account all relevant factors including crime trends, demographics, and security assessments relating to the area in question so as to ensure optimal use is made of Garda human resources.

Dundrum Garda station forms part of the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) East. I have been informed that the number of Gardaí assigned to the Dundrum Garda Station on the 31 March 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 81. The corresponding figure in February was 85 and on the 31 December 2009 there were 80 members assigned to Dundrum.

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 deter crime. Key to achieving this goal is the commitment in the Programme for Government, "A Programme for a Partnership Government" tocontinue the ongoing accelerated Garda recruitment programme with a view to increasing Garda numbers to 15,000.

As the Deputy will be aware, since the Garda College reopened in September 2014, a total of 700 Garda trainees have been recruited with a further 450 planned to be recruited during the remainder of this year. So far 395 of the new Garda trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that 10 newly attested Gardaí have been assigned to the DMR East Garda Division.

It is expected that a further 300 trainees will attest by the end of this year which, taking account of projected retirements, will bring Garda numbers to around the 13,000 mark. We must, I believe, endeavour to make more rapid progress than this to reach our target of 15,000 and I am engaging with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in relation to increasing the planned annual intake this year and in coming years.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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121. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the number of members of An Garda Síochána assigned to and active in the Tallaght drugs unit in each of the years 2010 to 2015. [14045/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that the allocation of Gardaí is continually monitored and reviewed taking into account all relevant factors including crime trends, demographics, and security assessments relating to the area in question so as to ensure optimal use is made of Garda human resources.

I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the number of Gardaí assigned to the Tallaght District on the 31 March 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 245. Tallaght District forms part of the wider Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) South Division which has 19 members in its Drugs Unit. The number of Garda personnel that were assigned to the DMR South Drugs Unit on the 31 December 2010 to 2015 was as set out in the following table.

It is important to note that all Gardaí have a responsibility in the prevention and detection of criminal activity whether it be in the area of drug offences or otherwise. The Tallaght District is policed by regular uniformed units, community policing units as well as a District Detective Unit. It is also supplemented by resources from Divisional units including the Divisional Traffic Unit and the Divisional Burglary Unit. Specifically in relation to drugs, I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána continues to pro-actively and resolutely tackle all forms of drug crime in this jurisdiction. The Garda National Drugs Unit works closely with dedicated Divisional and District Drug Units and other national units, including the Organised Crime Unit, as well as the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in targeting persons involved in the illicit sale and supply of drugs.

The Deputy will be aware that after discussions with my Government colleagues, on Tuesday 31 May, I announced a range of additional measures to tackle organised crime including the strengthening of CAB powers, new legislation to target proceeds of crime and the setting up of a new Special Crime Taskforce that will focus relentlessly on persons involved in gangland activities. In addition to these measures I will also discuss transnational dimension of organised crime with international counterparts.

As the Deputy will be aware, when the financial crisis hit, the then Government introduced a moratorium on recruitment and the four year National Recovery Plan, published in 2010, envisaged a steady reduction in Garda numbers. Thankfully, in a recovering economy, we were able to reopen the Garda College in September 2014 and start recruiting once again. 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 deter crime. Key to achieving this goal is the commitment in the Programme for Government, "A Programme for a Partnership Government" tocontinue the ongoing accelerated Garda recruitment programme with a view to increasing Garda numbers to 15,000. Since the Garda College reopened in September 2014, a total of 700 Garda trainees have been recruited with a further 450 planned to be recruited during the remainder of this year. So far 395 of the new Garda trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that 30 newly attested Gardaí have been assigned to the DMR South Garda Division.

It is expected that a further 300 trainees will attest by the end of this year which, taking account of projected retirements, will bring Garda numbers to around the 13,000 mark. We must, I believe, endeavour to make more rapid progress than this to reach our target of 15,000 and I will be engaging with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in relation to increasing the planned annual intake this year and in coming years.

DMR South Drugs Unit