Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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291. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of incidents of suspected needle spiking reported to An Garda Síochána in 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20462/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Spiking a person’s drink or spiking someone by injection are very serious offences. These offences are, in effect, poisoning, and are criminal offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 that can result in a three-year prison term.

I can assure the Deputy that any incident of this type of crime, including those with evidence to suggest a link with ‘spiking’, will be investigated by either local Gardaí supported by, or attached to, Divisional Protective Services Units.

As the Deputy will appreciate, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the direction of investigation priorities and the management of the PULSE system. As Minister, I play no role in these independent policing functions.

I am advised by the Garda authorities of the following number of crime incidents reported to An Garda Síochána from 1 January 2022, in which the injured party claimed to have been ‘spiked’:

I am further advised by Gardaí that the figures contained in the table for 2022 are based on data obtained from PULSE on 14 February 2023. I am also informed by Gardaí that crime counting rules were not applied to the data and all figures are operational and liable to change. I understand from An Garda Síochána that counts are based on the presence of key text within the incident narrative and claims made by the injured party only and do not consider incident type or the result of any toxicology testing in relation to the incident.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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292. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of full-time civilian grooms persons working in the Garda mounted unit in 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20463/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration of An Garda Síochána, including recruitment and the management of Garda resources. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

I am advised that at 26 April 2023 there were 2 full time civilian Grooms working in the Garda mounted unit.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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294. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí by rank attached to each Garda divisional protective services unit as of 25 April 2023, in tabular form. [20503/23]

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.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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295. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if funding has been provided in 2023 to purchase additional Garda prisoner transport vans. [20504/23]

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

I am 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.

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.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that there are currently 15 Garda prisoner transport vans attached to the Garda fleet and that there are no plans to purchase additional Garda prisoner transport vans in 2023.