Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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541. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda cars and motorcycles attached to Garda north Dublin roads policing unit as of 7 September 2021, in tabular form. [43404/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána and deployment of resources. This includes responsibility for personnel matters and the distribution of personnel across the various Garda Divisions, including Roads Policing Units. As Minister, I have no role in these 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. I am advised that the responsibility for the efficient deployment of all official Garda vehicles in each Division is assigned to the Divisional Officer, who may allocate vehicles between Stations as required by operational circumstances.

The table below, furnished to me by the Garda authorities, shows the breakdown of vehicles attached to the Roads Policing Unit in the DMR North Roads Policing Unit as of 8 September 2021.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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542. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a competition to fill the vacancies in a unit (details supplied) will be held before the end of 2021. [43405/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the deployment of Gardaí and their allocation to Garda units. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters.

Community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána, and all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in the course of carrying out their duties. To date, the official categorisation as a Community Garda refers to those who are exclusively assigned to building relationships with local communities and civil society, including by giving talks to schools, community groups and others. 

I am informed by the Garda authorities that approval has been granted to commence a competition to assign 3 Sergeants and 17 Garda posts within the Coolock District Community Policing Units, Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North. I am advised that these posts will be filled from current divisional resources. I am informed that planning for this competition is underway but I understand that a completion date for the competition has not yet been established.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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543. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the budget allocation to the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau and Criminal Assets Bureau in 2020 and 2021, in tabular form. [43406/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that given the large number of regions, divisions and specialist units within the Garda organisation, as well as the central management of general overheads such as ICT and the Garda fleet, budgets are not allocated on a specialist unit basis. 

However, I am advised that the table below, which has been provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the annual spend for the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau in 2020 and from January to August 2021. Salary costs are included in the total expenditure figures.

As the Deputy is aware, the Criminal Asset Bureau is accounted for in the Justice Vote. I can confirm that the total budget allocation, including salary costs, for the Criminal Assets Bureau in 2020 was €9.1 million and this was increased to €9.96 million for 2021.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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544. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí by rank attached to the street crime unit in the Dublin metropolitan region as of 6 September 2021. [43407/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes the deployment of members of An Garda Síochána throughout the State. As Minister, I have no role in this independent function.

I can inform the Deputy that all members of An Garda Síochána are tasked with enforcing all legislation pertaining to street crime. There is no specific designation of Street Crime Units within the organisation of An Garda Síochána. Garda units can be established locally to address specific matters relating to local crime trends and criminal activity. Such units can operate either in uniform or in plain clothes. These units include Burglary Response Units, Crime Task Force, District Detective Unit, Drugs Units and Street Crime Units.

The table below sets out the number of Gardaí assigned to street crime units in the DMR.

The Deputy may also be aware that Operation Spire and Operation Pier are concentrated within Dublin City Centre through the DMR South Central and North Central Divisions. These operations form the basis of a regional response to city centre street-level drug dealing and possession of drugs with members performing dedicated patrols in areas known to have a high concentration of such issues. Some key areas targeted are those that have a significant nightlife economy. Both operations are undertaken by uniformed and plain-clothes members on a full-time basis, with the objective to investigate, detect, prevent and prosecute criminal offences committed under the Misuse of Drugs Act.  A large proportion of these operations focuses on high-visibility and pro-active policing and engagement with the residential and business communities.

For the Deputy's further information, the table below has been provided to me by the Garda authorities and sets out the number of Gardaí assigned to the DMR at 31 August 2021.

<a href="">Gardaí assigned to the DMR</a>

Detailed information in relation to Garda numbers is available on my Department’s website. This information is updated every month with the latest data provided by An Garda Síochána, and includes the number of Gardaí by station across the whole country.

The information can be found at the following link:

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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545. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of new marked Garda vans that came into the fleet in 2020 and to date in 2021; and the number of vans withdrawn from the fleet during same period. [43408/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. In addition, the allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, in light of identified operational demands. This includes responsibility for the allocation of Garda vehicles. As Minister, I have no role in these decisions. 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.

I am pleased to note that significant capital investment continues to be made in An Garda Síochána, including a total of €46 million specifically for the Garda fleet during the period 2016 to 2021. This continuing investment is intended to ensure that An Garda Síochána has a modern, effective and fit-for-purpose fleet and that Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive on the roads and in the community to prevent and tackle crime. The allocation of these and all other vehicles in the fleet is entirely a matter for the Commissioner and his management team.

The table below, furnished to me by the Garda authorities, shows the number of marked Garda vans allocated, removed, and the number of vans that are less than one year old for the years in question. 

*figures for 2021 are as of 31 August 2021

**less than one year old as of 31 December 2020

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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546. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the names of the companies that supplied an Garda Síochána with batons in each of the past four years in tabular form. [43409/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the purchase of resources for An Garda Síochána. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in this matter.

The below table, comprising information provided to me by the Garda authorities, outlines details regarding the purchase of batons by An Garda Síochána during the period 2017 to 2020.