Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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609. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the budget allocation to the Garda text alert scheme in each of the years 2018 to 2020; the amount actually spent in each year; and the budget allocation for same in 2021. [34850/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the new Programme for Government,Our Shared Future, includes a commitment to support and prioritise community crime prevention, including Text Alert.

For many years, my Department has supported community crime prevention by providing funding for the Community Alert programme, which is operated by Muintir na Tíre in partnership with the Garda authorities. My Department provides funding in relation to the employment and associated costs of the national service, including three of the five regional Development Officers. The long-standing view has been that this is the best use of the resources available to my Department to support effective community crime prevention actions.

Community partnership has been particularly evident in the success of the Garda Text Alert scheme. Since it was launched in September 2013, it has grown quickly with a total of 164,000 subscribers and in the order of 3 million text messages sent annually. Every Garda Division, rural and urban, now offers the text alert service and An Garda Síochána has published guidelines to assist in the establishment and operation of local groups.

At the Ploughing Championships in September 2018, my predecessor, Charlie Flanagan TD, announced that the Text Alert Rebate Scheme would be available to over 1,000 local groups registered under the Garda Text Alert Scheme. Under that Scheme, my Department made in the region of €150,000 available to local communities who wanted to apply for a rebate towards the costs associated with running their local Text Alert Scheme.

The below table outlines the budget allocated and the amount spent for the years in question. Final information in relation to payments as part of the 2020 scheme, which will be paid in 2021, is not yet available, however it is expected that the amounts involved will be similar to the 2019 payment.