Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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662. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda community officers for each district in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26295/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána.  Further, the allocation of Garda resources is made in light of identified operational demands.  This includes deployment of personnel among the various Garda divisions. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends, to ensure their optimum use.

To date, the official categorisation of a Community Garda has simply referred to those who are exclusively assigned to building relationships with local communities and civil society including giving talks to schools, community groups and others.  However, it is important to note that community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána and that all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in carrying out their duties. Indeed, this has never been more evident than in the work carried out by all members of the Gardaí as we have tackled the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the below table sets out the number of Community Gardaí  attached to Kildare Division and Laois/Offaly Division at 31 March 2021.

Detailed information in relation to Community Garda numbers is available on my Department’s website.  This information is updated every month with the latest data provided by An Garda Síochána at the following link:

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

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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663. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the engagements that she and her officials have had with an association (details supplied) and the Garda Commissioner in respect of ICT systems that can track expense claims within the association more accurately and efficiently. [26312/21]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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664. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to meet with members of an association (details supplied) regarding the contents of correspondence dated 15 December 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26313/21]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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666. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of complaints made to her by members of an association (details supplied) in 2020 and to date in 2021, in respect of alleged breaches of the association’s legal framework. [26315/21]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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668. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to issues with internal financial controls and corporate governance within an association (details supplied) in 2020 and to date in 2021. [26317/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 663, 664, 666 and 668 together.

The correspondence of 15 December 2020 referred to by the Deputy was referred to the Garda Commissioner as it concerned matters relating to the internal governance of the association in question. I understand that the Garda Commissioner had arranged to meet the association in this regard.

Insofar as the matters relating to ICT systems are concerned, I understand that these relate to recommendations arising from a strategic and operational review commissioned by the association and that the Garda Commissioner is in correspondence with the association in relation to its implementation.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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665. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of funding and or grant aid given to an association (details supplied) including the heading of the fund origin on an annual basis for the past ten years to date in tabular form. [26314/21]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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671. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of funding that her Department historically granted an association (details supplied) to engage a company. [26320/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 665 and 671 together.

I can inform the Deputy that my Department does not provide funding or grant aid to the association in question. However, there is provision for funding which is administered by the Garda Commissioner and borne by the Garda Síochána Vote. No funding has been provided to engage the company referred to.

The Garda Associations were established by statute under the Garda Síochána Act, 1924, and are responsible for discharging their representative functions under statute.The funding provided represents a subvention in respect of post, telecommunications and accommodation costs originally provided directly by the State.

In addition to this direct subvention, there is also provision for the full time secondment of the General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary of the association, where these are Garda members, to work with the Association. In these circumstances, their salaries continue to be paid directly from the Garda Vote. Similarly, certain travel and subsistence expenses of association members in connection with associate business are paid directly from the Garda Vote.

The amounts paid over the years from 2011 to 2020, are as follows:

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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667. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will publish and or provide details of, or copies of, all emails and hard correspondence received from an association (details supplied) seeking a statutory instrument to enable its annual conference to proceed. [26316/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that the Statutory Regulations that govern the operation of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) provide that the Annual Delegate Conference (ADC) must take place not later than May in any year.

The ADC of the GRA could not be held in the usual in-person format before the end of May 2020 due to the public health guidelines which were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The GRA communicated with my Department during the course of 2020 in relation to the possibility of holding an ADC during the year, and the requirement for supporting Regulatory changes.

On foot of this, and in accordance with section 122 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Síochána (Associations) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 605/2020) were made by Minister McEntee on 8 December 2020. The Regulations provided, inter alia, for the ADC to be held in December 2020.

Correspondence between the GRA and my Department in this matter can be made available to the Deputy.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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669. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her work to date in respect of reform of Garda staff associations that is being implemented in A Policing Service for the Future; and the name of each association, the goals that are to be achieved and the progress made to date on same in tabular form. [26318/21]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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670. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she had engagements with Garda management regarding the impact of the new Garda operational policing model and the impact that would have on the way in which the executive of an association (details supplied) would be structured. [26319/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 669 and 670 together.

The Deputy will be aware that the introduction of a new operating police model was a key recommendation in the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, published in September 2018, and its implementation plan, A Policing Service for our Future (APSFF).

Under the Divisional Policing Model, all services will be managed and co-ordinated at divisional level, to allow greater specialisation and to release Gardaí from back office functions, and Garda Districts will no longer form part of the organisational structure.

The General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Garda Síochána Operating Model) Bill has been approved by Government to facilitate the full roll out of the new Garda Operating Model. The General Scheme was finalised following extensive engagement with An Garda Síochána, which worked closely with my Department to identify the legislative changes required in respect of the new Operating Model.

Among these changes is the removal of references to districts from the statute book to ensure there are no legislative impediments to the roll-out of the new operating model. The Statutory Regulations which govern the operation of all Garda representative associations are among the pieces of secondary legislation which will require review to remove references to districts and other subsequent amendments. Consultation will take place with stakeholders, including the Garda associations, in advance of any changes to Regulations being made.

I can further inform the Deputy that there are no actions in APSFF which lead directly to reforming the Garda associations. However, there have been a number of changes in recent years to the industrial relations environment in which these associations operate, notably the enactment of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019, which gave Gardaí access to the Workplace Relations Commission for collective Industrial Relations matters. These matters are the subject of ongoing consideration by my Department, in conjunction with the Garda authorities.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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672. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide the breakdown by Garda district of fines and arrests in relation to the Covid-19 legislation. [26330/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, An Garda Síochána is responsible for policing the public health regulations made under the Health Act 1947. 

I am informed by the Garda authorities that Covid-19 related Fixed Payment Notices (FPNs) are currently in operation for a number of distinct offences. These are recorded on the Fixed Charge Processing System (FCPS), which contains only the information essential to process and post the fine. Comprehensive details of the FPNs issued, including by type of offence and division, are published on the Garda website.

The tables below show the number of FPNs issued per Garda Region and District:

Confirmed Covid-19 incident figures (powers used/breaches of regulations) are crime incidents in which files are prepared for the Office of the DPP in order to charge/summons. Due to the substantial checking and reviews undertaken on these incidents prior to publication, there is a slight reporting time lag. Updates are published on the Garda website when available.

The most recent figures available cover incidents which occurred up to the 8^thMay, 2021. The table below provides details of number of confirmed Covid-19 incidents, where at least one arrest was made and where the reason for the arrest was recorded as Covid-19.  Since the 8^thApril, 2020, there have been a total of 72 confirmed Covid-19 incidents in which at least one arrest was made and where the reason for arrest related to Covid-19. A breakdown of the Garda Region in which the incidents and arrests occurred is provided in the table below: