Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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489. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of times armed gardaí discharged a firearm during the course of their duty in each of the years 2019 to 2022, and to-date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9754/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, 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), which includes all operational policing matters. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions.

For the Deputy's information, in the interest of transparency, the Commissioner publishes monthly statistics related to the use of force by Garda members, including the discharge of firearms, at the following link: www.garda.ie/en/information-centre/statistics/

The Commissioner also provides monthly published reports to the Policing Authority which detail use of force by Garda members, including the discharge of firearms, which can be viewed at the following link: www.garda.ie/en/about-us/publications/general-reports/commissioner-s-monthly-reports-to-policing-authority/

To be of assistance, I am advised that the below table, drawn from the published information available, outlines the number of times that a Garda member discharged a lethal or less-than-lethal/non-lethal firearm in the course of their duty for the years specified.

* Less lethal weapons are designed to cause less serious injuries than traditional firearms, while non-lethal weapons are designed to disable or subdue an assailant without causing death or serious injury.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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490. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí by rank attached to a district community response team within the DMR as of 20 February 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9755/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána, and will contact him again when this is to hand.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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491. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the percentage of gardaí adequately trained to engage in high-speed pursuit of vehicles in each Garda district within the DMR, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9756/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, 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 any matters relating to the training of Garda members. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

An Garda Síochána have advised that it is not possible to provide figures in the manner in which they are sought, as records are not kept in a way to allow the extraction of this information.

The Deputy will be however interested to know, in 2009, the structure of driving training courses was changed to a Competency Based Driving model with a number of levels from basic non-response driving functions to higher skill-set driving based on the Roadcraft system of driving, including emergency response driving.

The Competency Based Driving Level 2 (CBD2) is a three week Competency Based Driving Course aimed at front-line Garda Drivers. This course contains Road Craft and emergency response driving.

The CBD Level 3 (CBD3) course, is two weeks in duration and is aimed at specialist units who have, by their role, a requirement for a higher skill set including a need to drive higher powered vehicles.

The table below, provided to me by the Garda authorities, outlines the number of Gardaí by division in the DMR who successfully completed training in CBD2 and CBD3 over the past three years:

I am advised that these details do not take account of any members who have been promoted, transferred or retired.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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492. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of registrations that An Garda Síochána is processing each week outside of the Dublin region; the average waiting times for appointments in each office, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9757/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) has oversight of the registration and renewal of immigration permissions for persons residing outside of the Dublin area.

The responsibility of the registration function at Immigration Offices outside of the Dublin Metropolitan Region rests with local Superintendents or the relevant Detective Superintendent.

The waiting time for appointments outside of Dublin is dependent on the demand for registrations in each office, and fluctuates based on seasonal demands and other variations. The national average waiting time is not a statistic that is recorded.

The table below outlines the number of registrations processed by an Garda Síochána outside Dublin for each month in 2022.

Registrations outside of Dublin for 2022

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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493. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí seconded outside of the State, by location; the number of police officers from other jurisdictions seconded here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9758/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have requested the information sought by the Deputy, however, this information was not available in time. I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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494. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number and percentage of roads policing vehicles that are currently fitted with automatic number plate recognition systems; the amount of funding that has been allocated in 2023 to include additional Garda vehicles with automatic number plate recognition systems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9759/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business. This includes the management of the Garda Fleet and the allocation of Garda resources, including distribution of funding from the Garda Vote. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions.

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

I can also 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 record funding of over €2 billion for An Garda Síochána, of which €10m has been allocated for investment in the Garda fleet.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) was introduced by the Garda authorities in 2008 and is used on a daily basis to assist in the prevention and detection of crime on our roads network. I am advised that currently 126 Roads Policing vehicles, or 38% of the Roads Policing fleet, are fitted with ANPR capability.

I am advised that the majority of Garda vehicles that are not equipped with ANPR predate 2019. As such, fitting the equipment to some of these vehicles may not be cost-efficient.

I am informed that around half of the outstanding vehicles are Garda motorcycles. These vehicles are not currently being equipped with ANPR capabilities. I am however informed that there are currently 4 ANPR-equipped motorcycles which are testing this capability in this type of vehicle.

An ANPR App is currently in a pilot phase on Garda mobility devices and I am informed that consideration will be given to rolling out the App on conclusion of the pilot phase assessment. For the Deputy's information, at the end of January there were over 10,800 Mobility Devices (both standard devices and active mobility devices) issued to Garda members.

I have also recently introduced the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 into the Dáil, which will extend the powers governing Garda use of CCTV and ANPR technology to help prevent crime and prosecute those involved in criminal activity in line with the Programme for Government.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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495. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of competitions held in 2022 and to date in 2023 for Garda members to join community policing units throughout the Dublin metropolitan region.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9760/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána, and will contact him again when this is to hand.