Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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37. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to bring forward legislation to enable the use of automatic number plate recognition systems to assist gardaí in their law enforcement duties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52445/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) was introduced into An Garda Síochána in 2008 and is used on a daily basis to assist in the prevention and detection of crime on our roads network.

The Deputy may also be aware that the Government published the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 on 4 August 2022, the text of which is available on the Oireachtas website. This important Bill makes provision for Garda powers to use modern digital technology, including providing for the expanded use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).

Part 3 of the Bill deals specifically with ANPR, expanding its use beyond road traffic offences. Going forward, ANPR will be used for the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences, the protection of the security of the State and the safeguarding against, and the prevention of, threats to public security, including securing public safety and public order.

Its use must be necessary and proportionate. The Bill provides for the automatic transfer of ANPR records from designated third parties on an ongoing basis and provides An Garda Síochána with the power to process those records. Initially, this will be the Dublin Port Company, the National Roads Authority and Dublin Airport Authority PLC, all bodies with extensive ANPR camera networks already in place.

The Bill allows for other bodies to be designated for this purpose and also allows for An Garda Síochána to establish its own cameras in strategic locations if it chooses to do so. It is also expected that ANPR cameras will be attached to many more Garda cars going forward.

In relation to serious offences or national security matters, a member of An Garda Síochána will be able to apply to monitor the movements of a particular vehicle, if they believe that the vehicle in question is connected to an investigation into an arrestable offence or a national security matter.

If a car, subject to focussed monitoring passes an ANPR camera, an alert will be created in a Garda monitoring room. If the period of monitoring is three months or less, a Superintendent not connected to the investigation may approve it, if he or she believes it is necessary and proportionate. Alternatively a Judge may provide the authorisation. The operation of ANPR generally will be subject to oversight by a High Court Judge who will report annually to the Taoiseach.

A Code of Practice relating to the operation of ANPR will also be prepared by the Garda Commissioner. In accordance with Part 8 of the Bill, the Code of Practice will set out the procedures to be used and the requirements relating to confidentiality, security, storage, access, retention, erasure and destruction of data. Part 8 also establishes the requirements for consultation on the Code of Practice which, when finalised, will be submitted to the Minister for Justice and published in a Statutory Instrument.

I would like to assure the Deputy that extensive legal advices have been provided on this Bill and appropriate safeguards are built into the legislation. There will be full compliance with GDPR and the Data Protection Act of 2018. The Data Protection Commissioner was consulted during the preparation of the Bill.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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38. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a specific transport police unit will be introduced, in light of public safety fears concerning public transport, especially at night; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52425/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I want to say at the outset that acts of violence and anti-social behaviour are completely unacceptable. The safety and security of both public transport passengers and staff, including arrangements to deal with anti-social behaviour, are important matters that must be managed by every public transport company, in conjunction with An Garda Síochána where appropriate. This Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with an unprecedented allocation of over €2.14 billion in Budget 2023.

The Commissioner is responsible, as the Deputy will be aware, for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes the establishment of any operational policing units within the Gardaí. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions.

I am advised that the Commissioner has no current plans to introduce a dedicated transport police unit, as An Garda Síochána's mission of 'Keeping People Safe' extends to all areas of our communities, including public transport.

There are a number of tools at the disposal of the Garda Commissioner, who is operationally responsible, to respond to anti-social behaviour on public transport.

Garda management engages extensively with transport operators, including the National Transport Authority, Irish Rail (DART and InterCity rail) and Transdev Ireland (Luas) to provide a high visibility presence through a coordinated approach.

I am further informed that there is ongoing communication between An Garda Síochána and the respective control centres, and access to good quality CCTV can provide assistance to Gardaí when investigating serious incidents.

I am advised by An Garda Síochána that legislation covering anti-social behaviour is sufficient for An Garda Síochána to police these incidents. There are a number of existing pieces of legislation that are available to Gardaí to tackle anti-social behaviour, including the Public Order Acts.

An Garda Síochána is also currently operating a Reduction in Assaults Strategy, which includes advertising on social media regarding the consequences of perpetrating an assault on another person.

An Garda Síochána has a range of regional and local operations in place to prevent, pre-empt and detect incidents arising.

For example, Operation Twin Tracks, a community engagement and rail safety policing initiative, is being conducted by Gardaí in partnership with other public transportation stakeholders. This Operation was launched with the purpose of providing high visibility policing of rail and light rail transport within the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) and the rail networks and train stations nationwide, and to deliver crime prevention advice to rail and light rail users.

Two days of action were held on 3 June and 29 July where high visibility patrolling operated between the hours of 3pm and 11pm on each day within the Dublin Region (Connolly and Heuston Stations) and nationwide on eight intercity routes. Local Crime Prevention Officers and Community Policing Gardaí were available to deliver crime prevention advice at community engagement/crime prevention stands at a number of stations on each of the days.

In January this year, the Garda authorities also launched Operation Saul to further support, enhance and strengthen the strategic and operational objectives of Operation Citizen, the Garda operation to reassure people that Dublin City Centre is a safe place to visit. Operation Saul aims to provide a safe environment for commuters using public transport services in the City.

It is important to note that operators have noted a decrease in incidents since the beginning of Operation Saul. For instance, the Luas has seen a fall of almost 40% in anti-social behaviour notwithstanding an overall increase in passenger numbers.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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39. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on when the community safety innovation fund successful projects are expected to be announced; the total number of applications received; the future plans to expand the fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52169/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the Community Safety Innovation Fund was established in April 2022 and €2 million was allocated to it under Budget 2022. This will increase to €3 million next year under Budget 2023.

I can confirm for the Deputy that 22 community projects across the country will receive grants ranging from €5,000 to €150,000, totalling €2 million, under the Community Safety Innovation Fund.

The fund opened for applications in April 2022 and a total of 124 applications were received by the deadline of 8 June. The allocation of funding was announced on 17 October and a full list of successful projects is available on my Department's website.

The funding call for the Community Safety Innovation Fund invited applications from community safety initiatives as well as groups co-funded with local authorities, NGOs and community organisations working on issues relevant to community safety and youth justice.

The Fund reinvests the proceeds of crime seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau in local projects to build stronger, safer communities. Each successful project has detailed how best the community wants to prevent crime and their proposals reflect community priorities and local safety issues.

Based on the high quality of proposals received, I believe the successful projects have the potential to have a real impact on their respective communities. I also want to encourage those who applied this year but did not receive funding to consider applying again next year.