Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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146. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of personnel attached to the Garda Síochána national drugs unit at a national, regional and divisional level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16077/16]

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 Units 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, as of the 30 April 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available there were 244 members assigned to the various Drugs Units throughout the State. The following table gives a breakdown of the number of Garda members assigned to each unit.

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. 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.

As the Deputy will be aware, when the financial crisis hit, the Government of the time 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 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 463 of the new Garda trainees have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide. Another 76 will attest on the 7 July with 150 more to attest in November.

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" to continue the ongoing accelerated Garda recruitment programme with a view to increasing Garda numbers to 15,000. Taking account of projected retirements, the current rate of recruitment will bring Garda numbers to around the 13,000 mark this year. 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.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the funding provided to the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the years 2006 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16078/16]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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148. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the personnel numbers allocated to the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the years 2006 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16079/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 148 together.

I can inform the Deputy that in accordance with section 21 of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, an annual report on the activities of the Criminal Assets Bureau is prepared and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. This report sets out matters relating to resources allocated to the Bureau and sets out in detail the activities of the Criminal Assets Bureau during the period.

The Annual Report for 2015 is currently being finalised and will be made available in due course.

For the Deputy's information, the following table sets out funding and personnel numbers allocated to the Criminal Asset Bureau from 2006 to 2016.

* Budget allocation figures only pending publication of final expenditure figures.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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149. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the funding provided and personnel allocated to the Garda Síochána divisional profiles unit in each of the years 2006 to 2016 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16080/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for the distribution of resources, including personnel and budgets, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the information requested by the Deputy regarding the resources available to the Criminal Assets Bureau in terms of manpower, including Divisional Profilers and budgets, are published in the Annual Reports of the Bureau which are publicly available online, for each of the years since the establishment of the Bureau.

I understand that to achieve nationwide coverage, the Criminal Assets Bureau has for some considerable time maintained a presence in each of the Garda Divisions through the operation of the Divisional Assets Profiler Programme.

Under this Programme asset profilers are providing a criminal asset profiling service across the Garda Divisions in relation to persons or suspects operating within the area, with particular reference to those involved in serious and organised crime. The Bureau utilises the local knowledge supplied to it by the asset profilers which allows the Bureau to target the proceeds of crime in local communities. They also assist the Bureau with preparatory groundwork in advance of a full investigation and have recourse to the expertise and advice of the Bureau.

In this context, I am informed by the Garda authorities that, as at end April 2016, the most recent date for which figures are available, the number of trained Garda Asset Profilers is 200 as well as 15 Revenue Customs and 3 Social Protection trained asset profilers making a total of 218 operating throughout the country.