Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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188. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda cars and vans attached to Dundalk and Drogheda Garda districts as of 25 January 2023; if he will provide the corresponding figures for 31 January 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4986/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to deliver a modern, fit-for-purpose, policing service. Budget 2023 provides funding of €2.14 billion for An Garda Síochána, of which €10m has been allocated for investment in the Garda fleet.

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 purchase, allocation, and effective and efficient use of Garda vehicles. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

I am however assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use. 

I am advised by the Garda authorities that at 31 January 2023 there were 3,350 vehicles attached to the Garda fleet. This represents an increase of 8% since end January 2021 when there were 3,128 vehicles attached to the Garda fleet.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the table below sets out the number of vehicles assigned to Louth Division at 31 January 2021 and at 31 January 2023.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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189. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons arrested and charged with burglary offences in the R district on 24, 25 and 26 December 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4987/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have contacted An Garda Síochána for the information requested by the Deputy. Regrettably this information was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy again once the information is to hand. 

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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190. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 509 of 13 December 2022, if he has received the necessary information from the Garda authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4988/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Parliamentary Question No. 509 of 13 December 2022 refers to the Garda districts within the Dublin metropolitan region that have received additional Garda mountain bikes to date in 2022. 

As the Deputy is aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for carrying on and managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are currently 556 mountain bikes nationally. 

I am further informed by the Garda authorities that that there were no new mountain bikes issued centrally to the Dublin Metropolitan Region in 2022.

The allocation of mountain bikes to assist members of An Garda Síochána with the policing of communities has been transformative in their mission to keep people safe. The use of this method of delivering policing by personnel in all Divisions nationwide has made Garda members more accessible to the public, and provided increased visibility to our communities across Ireland. 

An Garda Síochána are committed to the continued use of this means of policing, and have advised that on two occasions tenders for the procurement of additional mountain bikes to replace and strengthen current fleet were advertised. 

I am informed that neither tender raised a bid for this contract, and upon further investigation of the circumstances surrounding this, it has been established that the Covid-19 pandemic, allied to substantial shortages in the supply chain were overriding factors in the tender not being awarded.

It is intended to once again return to the market and seek a tender for the provision of mountain bikes in 2023.  Consideration is also being given to the specification of bicycle available/required to ensure a successful process is undertaken. 

I understand that Garda Divisions and Districts currently in possession of mountain bikes are encouraged to ensure the upkeep and repairs of bikes currently on hand, to achieve maximum benefit from allocated mountain bikes.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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191. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 556 of 25 October 2022, if he has received the necessary information from the Garda authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4989/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Parliamentary Questions No. 556 of 25 October 2022  and No. 507 of 13 December 2022 asks when the contract for the provision of stab vests that are issued to frontline Gardaí was last put out to tender; and when this current contract is due to expire.  

As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for carrying on and managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the contract for the provision of stab vests that are issued to frontline Garda members was last put out to tender in September 2020. This tender process was not completed, in the main as a result of legal challenges, which could not be addressed as the expert knowledge required, was no longer available.

I am advised that the current contract has expired and that An Garda Síochána are currently reviewing overall operational requirements and it is envisaged that the new tender process will be initiated in early 2023.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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192. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of inspections carried out by Garda authorities in each district within the Dublin region on pubs, clubs and nightclubs to ensure full compliance with alcohol licensing legislation in 2022 and to date in 2023; the percentage of premises that were in breach of the legislation and the frequency in which inspections are carried out, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4990/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the general management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including liquor licensing inspections. As Minister, I have no role in these matters.

I am informed by An Garda Síochána that the tables below show the number of incidents on the PULSE system under the incident type 'Liquor Licensing Inspection of Premises No Offence Disclosed' reported in the Dublin Garda region during 2021 and 2022 (full year) and up to 26 January 2023. Incident counts are based on reported data and were collated based on operational PULSE data as of 27 January 2023.

'Liquor Licensing Inspection of Premises No Offence Disclosed'refers to the inspection by Gardaí of licensed premises under the Intoxicating Liquor Act and where no offence is discovered or detected at the inspection. If an offence is disclosed during an inspection, it is recorded as an offence of the relevant type. As such, there is no data available on the number of inspections where an offence is disclosed and it is not possible to provide the percentage of premises that were in breach of the legislation.

The Deputy may be aware that Operation Navigation was commenced in July 2020 and continued into 2021 to support public health measures related to licensed premises during the Covid-19 pandemic. Given some specific offences related to licensed premises were in effect for different periods of time during the pandemic this means this will have affected the figures for 2021. As such, the figures for 2021 are not directly comparable to 2022. 

Table 1: Liquor Licensing Inspection of Premises (No Offence Disclosed) carried out in 2021

* Fewer than 10

Table 2: Liquor Licensing Inspection of Premises (No Offence Disclosed) carried out in 2022

* Fewer than 10

Table 3: Liquor Licensing Inspection of Premises (No Offence Disclosed) carried out in 2023 (01/01/2023 – 26/01/2023)

* Fewer than 10