Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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174. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí assigned to the drugs and organised crime unit in County Louth in each of the years 2018 to 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [23178/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management and control of An Garda Síochána. This includes responsibility for the allocation of all Garda resources and I, as Minister, have no role in these matters. However the Garda authorities have informed me that the allocation of resources is kept under continuous review, in light of crime trends and policing priorities, in order to ensure their optimum use.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (D.O.C.B.) leads in tackling all forms of drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs in Ireland. Working closely with international law enforcement partners, the Bureau is having significant success in disrupting drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs in Ireland, as well as organised crime groups. For the Deputy's information, the table below, as furnished to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Garda members attached to the Drugs and Organised Crime Unit from the years 2018 to 31 July 2020, the latest date for which figures are available.