Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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697. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the full number of gardaí across all ranks attached to all Garda stations in the Cork city and county area in each of the years from 2017 to 2021 and to date in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33676/22]

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 role in these matters.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that at 31 May 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 14,347 Garda members nationwide. This represents an increase of almost 6% since end December 2017 when there were 13,551 Garda members.

For the Deputy's information the attached spreadsheet, which was provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Gardaí assigned to Cork City, Cork North, and Cork West Divisions at end December 2017 to end December 2021, and at 31 May 2022, the latest date for which figures are available.

The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with the unprecedented allocation provided in Budget 2022 of over €2 billion.

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.

In the interests of transparency, further detailed information in relation to Garda numbers can be found 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:

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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698. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the 2022-2026 An Garda Síochána Capital Building Programme will be published. [33796/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the management of the Garda Estate.

I can advise the Deputy that a new Garda Capital Plan is still undergoing consideration between my Department, An Garda Síochána and the OPW.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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699. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an application by a person (details supplied) for leave-to-remain following the completion of Garda vetting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33803/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The person referred to by the Deputy lodged a review application in respect of their EU Treaty Rights application decision on 11 May 2021. This application is currently under consideration by my Department. My officials will correspond with them if further documentation or information is required. 

Applications are dealt with in strict chronological order, and a decision will issue to the applicant in due course.  While every effort is made to process these applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the volume of applications received, their complexity, the possible need for the EU Treaty Rights Unit to seek further information in relation to the application, and the resources available to process them. Although it is not possible at the present time to provide a definitive date by which a decision will be reached in this case, the Deputy can be assured that there will be no avoidable delay in completing same.

The person concerned has also made an application under the scheme for the Regularisation of Long Term Undocumented Migrants. Processing times may vary depending on the complexity of the application, whether it is a single or family application, the supporting documentation and the vetting process with An Garda Síochána. Applications where there is an existing deportation order in place will also require additional processing.

Each application will be assessed individually in accordance with the published criteria, available on my Department's immigration website at: www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Undocumented-Policy-Scheme-January-2022.pdf

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie), which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.