Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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570. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of additional Garda patrols on public transport in the greater Dublin area as part of efforts to make public transport safer for users; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7576/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána, but I have not received this information in time. I will write to the Deputy as soon as the information is to hand.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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571. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda strength by rank across each Dublin metropolitan region district during the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7577/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes decisions on the deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. 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 understand that it is a matter for the Divisional Chief Superintendent to determine the optimum distribution of duties among the personnel available to them, having regard to the profile of each area within the Division and its specific needs.

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 800 additional Garda trainees and 400 Garda staff. This significant investment demonstrates the Government's commitment to increasing the Garda workforce to enable the organisation to keep our communities safe, and to preventing crime in all its forms.

The attached table, which has been provided to me by the Garda authorities, shows the number of Gardaí attached to the Dublin Metropolitan Region, by rank, during the years 2016 to 2021.

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 there are currently 231 trainees engaged in training.

I am also pleased to note that 148 members of An Garda Síochána were recently assigned to Garda Divisions throughout the country following two attestations in January.

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