Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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230. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to outline plans to promote high-visibility policing over the Christmas period in Dublin and across Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62517/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that while the Garda Commissioner is operationally responsible for policing matters, the Government is committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have the resources needed to keep our urban and rural communities safe over the Christmas period and at all times during the year.

Budget 2023 provides funding of €2.14 billion for An Garda Síochána, which included a €5m increase in the overtime budget for An Garda Síochána to over €100m, supporting high visibility policing to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that Operation Open City commenced in Dublin City on 1 December and will continue until Christmas Eve. The aim of Operation Open City is to facilitate the movement of Public Transport and minimise traffic disruption to the general public, through high visibility policing and enforcement activity.

The Garda National Christmas and New Year Roads Policing Plan also runs from 1 December to 3 January. Together, Operation Open City and the Christmas and New Year Enforcement Operation will target lifesaver offences – which include speeding, wearing of seatbelts, mobile phone use and driving while intoxicated – over the holiday period.

I am also informed that preparation in respect of this year’s New Year’s Eve Policing Operation is underway.

As the Deputy may be aware, An Garda Síochána also have a number of operations currently in place to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Dublin. This includes Operation Citizen, which aims to deliver an enhanced high visibility policing presence in Dublin city centre on a daily basis.

Operation Tara, An Garda Síochána's enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, commenced in July last year and has a strong focus on tackling street-level drug dealing throughout Ireland.

In addition, this year's winter phase of Operation Thor was launched by Gardaí on 1 October. Operation Thor is designed to tackle burglaries and associated criminal activities, which often increase in the darker winter months, through targeted enforcement and crime prevention activity and information.

One of the main focus areas of Operation Thor is crime prevention through visible, focused patrols at specific times of day, targeting burglary ‘hot-spots’ and also utilising high-visibility check points that prevent ease of movement. Operation Thor also aims to reduce burglaries by ensuring every burglary is appropriately investigated to the highest possible standard and by monitoring crime data daily for changes in trends of burglaries, associated crimes and detection rates.

Since its inception in 2015, Operation Thor has proved highly successful in tackling property-related crime and figures show that there has been a 36% reduction in the rate of such offences when compared to the pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019. The Operation's winter phase places particular emphasis on preventing any predicted surge in burglaries of residential properties during this period.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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231. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if An Garda Síochána will provide details of the number of thefts and damage to bee keeping and related equipment (details supplied) per county in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62522/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the recording of information on the Garda PULSE system. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

However, I have been informed by An Garda Síochána that there is no sub-category that exists on the PULSE system that would allow them to record thefts of this type. As such they are unable to provide a reliable answer to the issues raised by the Deputy.

The Deputy may be aware that presently there are strict penalties in place for theft offences. Theft is an offence under section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. Anyone convicted of a theft offence is liable to a penalty of a fine or up to 10 years imprisonment. Under section 14 of the Act, a person found guilty of robbery (theft using coercion or force) is potentially liable on conviction on indictment to life imprisonment.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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232. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda stations in County Cork open during the hours of 9pm and 9am. [62675/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended). This includes all decisions related to the opening hours of individual Garda stations. As Minister I have no role in these independent functions.

I have been advised by the Garda authorities that there are 9 Garda stations in Cork County, listed below, that are open during the hours specified by the Deputy.

Cork North Division:

- Mallow

- Fermoy

- Cobh

- Midleton

Cork West Division:

- Bandon

- Bantry

- Clonakilty

- Macroom

- Kinsale

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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233. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the opening hours of each of the Garda stations in the Cork city and county divisions in tabular form. [62676/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended). This includes all decisions related to the opening hours of individual Garda stations. As Minister I have no role in these independent functions.

I am advised that An Garda Síochána maintains an online station directory which includes the contact information and opening hours for Garda stations across the State. The directory is searchable by Garda Division or station and can be accessed at:

www.garda.ie/en/contact-us/station-directory/

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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234. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of civil servants working in Garda stations by county in tabular form. [62677/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the deployment of human resources.

The table attached provides the number of Garda Staff by station as of 31 October 2022, the latest date for when figures are available. Information is operational and subject to change.

For the Deputy's information, and in the interest of transparency, Garda workforce figures are published on gov.ie and regularly updated by my Department, from information supplied by the Garda Authorities, at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/bd777-an-garda-siochana-your-police-service-some-facts-and-figures/