Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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248. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí by rank and civilian staff by grade by Garda division nationwide in An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47123/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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It is important to be clear that under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 as amended, the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for management of An Garda Síochána and for the allocation and efficient use of Garda resources. This includes responsibility for personnel matters and the distribution of personnel across the various Garda Divisions. As Minister I have no direct role in these matters. I understand however that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use.

As the Deputy will be aware, a record €1.76 billion was allocated to the Garda Vote for 2019, as well as capital investment amounting to €92 million this year and this is increasing to an unprecedented €1.882 billion for 2020. This level of funding will allow the Garda Commissioner to recruit up to 700 new Gardaí next year and additional Garda staff, the balance of which will be an operational matter for the Commissioner to decide.

This ongoing investment is supporting significant growth in the organisation towards the Government's target of an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 by 2021.

The information requested by the Deputy is available on my Department's website at

For more general information on Garda facts and figures, the Deputy may also wish to see the information on the link below:

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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249. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí permanently attached to specialist units and or sections by rank; the number of full-time civilian staff attached to specialist units and or sections in An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47124/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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A record €1.76 billion was allocated to the Garda Vote for 2019, as well as capital investment amounting to €92 million this year. I am pleased to have secured an overall increase of €122 million to increase An Garda Síochána budget for 2020 to an unprecedented €1.882 billion for next year.

The Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána and the allocation of these resources, including personnel matters. As Minister, I have no responsibility for these matters. I understand however that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use.

The following table, as provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Gardaí assigned to CAB, the Economic Crime Bureau and Roads Policing Units.I hope the Deputy will appreciate that, for security and operational reasons, the strength of a number of specialist units, including SDU, ERU and NBCI cannot be provided. Similarly, a breakdown of civilian staff assigned to these units is not available.

In relation to Operation Thor, as referred to by the Deputy in the additional clarification provided to my Department, I would confirm that this is a national multi-strand anti-crime initiative. It involves a broad range of measures to tackle burglary and property related crime and actively targets organised crime gangs and repeat offenders and as such is not a defined unit.

Information in relation to the allocation of Garda resources to Roads Policing Unit can be found through the link below:

www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Roads_Policing_Unit.

Additional information on Garda Resources can be found at the link below:

www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/An_Garda_Siochana_facts_and_figures.