Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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678. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when an immigration officer will be appointed in the Tullamore district; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11528/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The management and administration of the Immigration Office in the Tullamore District is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made enquiries with the Commissioner and received the following update.

As a result of a recent competition, a member was appointed as Immigration Officer in the Tullamore District on Monday 1 March 2021.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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An Garda Síochána has been allocated an unprecedented budget of €1.952 billion for 2021. The significant level of funding provided over recent years is enabling sustained, ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff. As a result, there are now approximately 14,600 Garda members and over 3,000 Garda staff nationwide.

The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters and deployment of resources. As Minister, I have no role in decisions on such matters. I am assured, 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 table below, as provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Gardaí assigned to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) at 31 January 2021, the latest date for which figures are available.

(Note - in the above table, GD indicates Garda, SG indicates Sergeant, IN indicates Inspector, SU indicated Superintendent, and CS indicates Chief Superintendent).

At 31 January 2021 there were 4 Garda staff members assigned to GNIB.

A detailed breakdown of Garda numbers by Division, District and Station is available on my Department’s website, in the interests of transparency and for the convenience of Deputies and the wider public. This information is updated every month with the latest data provided by An Garda Síochána. The Information on Garda members requested may be accessed at the following link: