Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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166. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí, by rank, attached to each divisional drugs unit as of 11 May 2023, in tabular form. [23428/23]

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, as well as for decisions on the deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. As Minister, I have no role in these 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. 

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, with the unprecedented allocation provided in Budget 2023 of over €2 billion.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that at the end of April 2023, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 332 Garda members assigned to Divisional Drugs Units nationwide. This represents an increase of almost 7% since end December 2022 when there were 311 Garda members assigned to these units.

The table below, which has been provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the total number of Garda members assigned to each Divisional drugs unit at the end of April 2023. Please note that this information is based upon operational data which has been provided by An Garda Síochána and may be liable to change.

For the Deputy's information, detailed statistics on Garda workforce numbers are published on my Department's website and can be accessed using the following link: 

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

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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167. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications that have been received for the Garda trainee recruitment campaign 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23470/23]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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171. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications that were received for the Garda recruitment campaign 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23625/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 171 together.

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 all human resource matters and recruitment. As Minister, I have no direct role in such matters.

As the Deputy will also be aware An Garda Síochána launched a new recruitment campaign on 24 March and closed on 14 April 2023.

This year’s campaign, which was shorter in duration than the 2022 campaign attracted 4,973 applicants. While there was some pent up demand last year due to the pause in Garda recruitment due to COVID, this level of interest is in line with 2019, the last pre COVID recruitment campaign, and demonstrates the demand to join AGS is as strong as ever.

The initial stage of the application process for this year’s campaign also differed to the 2022 campaign with all applicants filling out an application in the first instance, rather than just declaring an interest. This gives a clearer picture of how many people are fully committed to applying this year.

I would like to encourage anyone called as part of the 2022 or 2023 competition not to defer but to make sure they’re fully fit and ready to take up the opportunity.