Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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168. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to ensure that incidences of drink and needle spiking are being recorded and categorised on the PULSE system in order to ascertain the scale of the crime; if there is flexibility in the categorisation and de-aggregation of data available from the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57998/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Spiking a person’s drink or spiking someone by injection are obviously very serious offences. They are, in effect, poisoning and they are criminal offences, under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, that can result in a three year prison term.

I can assure the Deputy that any incident of this type of crime, including those with evidence to suggest a link with ‘spiking’, will be investigated by either local Gardaí supported by, or attached to, Divisional Protective Services Units.

As the Deputy will appreciate, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the direction of investigation priorities for the organisation and the management of the PULSE system.

I am unable to provide any information regarding the management of PULSE or the manner in which information is stored on and retrieved from the system. As Minister, I play no role in these independent functions.

For the Deputy's information, I have been advised by the Garda authorities that identifying incidents which involve drink or needle spiking is dependent on the use of keywords in the incident narrative or investigation notes. A search was carried out for incidents reported between 01/01/2021 and 21/11/2021 which include any of the following terms in the narrative or investigation notes: “spike”, “spiking” “needle”, “syringe” or “date rape”. Some incidents contained these terms but did not relate to drink or needle spiking.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that this search indicates that, as of 21 November 2021, there have been 46 crime incidents recorded nationally this year. 25 of these incidents specifically refer to syringes or needles. The remaining 21 either refer to drink spiking or do not specify the method of spiking.

Figures are based on data obtained from PULSE on 22/11/2021. Crime counting rules are not applied. All figures are operational and liable to change.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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169. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí in the DMR east as of 1 November 2021 or the latest date available; the number in the past 12 months previously; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58054/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, 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 Garda members. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

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. I further understand that it is a matter for the Divisional Chief Superintendent to determine the optimum distribution of duties among the personnel available to him or her, having regard to the profile of each area within the Division and its specific needs.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that on 31 October 2021, there were 370 Gardaí assigned to DMR East. On 31 October 2020, there were 379 Gardaí assigned to DMR East.

As the Deputy will appreciate, Garda numbers nationwide can be affected by a number of factors, including retirements, medical discharges and resignations. The impact of policing measures and other steps to support the public health restrictions has also, exceptionally, had an impact across the country over the past two years. However, I am pleased to note that recruitment has resumed and that 385 trainees are engaged in their training following intakes in May, July, September and earlier this month.

Budget 2022 has provided an unprecedented allocation of in excess of €2 billion to An Garda Síochána, which includes funding for the recruitment of up to an additional 800 Gardaí and a further 400 Garda staff, subject to the public health situation. This significant investment demonstrates the Government's commitment to increasing the Garda workforce to enable the organisation to keep our communities safe.

For the Deputy's information, detailed statistics on Garda workforce numbers are published on my Department's website and updated on a monthly basis.