Helen McEntee (Meath East, 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 management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including Garda operations aimed at preventing and countering criminal activity. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána continues to work closely with international partners to combat transnational crime and has already had significant success in this regard.

Given the global nature of the drugs trade, international law enforcement co-operation remains a key element in the overall response. An Garda Síochána has strong and strategic partnerships in place at international level targeting drug trafficking, including working closely with relevant law enforcement agencies such as INTERPOL and Europol and participating in the Maritime Analysis Operations Centre for Narcotics (MAOC-N) based in Lisbon.

I wish to acknowledge the work of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB). GNDOCB continues to have significant success in disrupting drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs by organised crime groups. GNDOCB’s work is supported by Divisional Drugs Units nationwide, and by all Gardaí working in local communities. GNDOCB also works in cooperation with international law enforcement partners. An Garda Síochána also uses multi-disciplinary approaches to ensure the activities of individuals and groups involved in criminal enterprise are effectively targeted. Such approaches include the use of money-laundering legislation and the powers available to CAB under the proceeds of crime legislation.

An Garda Síochána continues to target those involved in street-level dealing across the country and also focuses on disrupting and dismantling the drug trafficking networks that impact on our communities and prosecuting those involved at every level through Operation Tara. Some recent successes of Operation Tara include the seizure last week of cigarettes with an estimated value of €10 Million with a loss to the Exchequer of €7.5 million. Last month, also through Operation Tara, Gardaí arrested a man following the seizure of over €1.5 million in cocaine and cash in Dublin and Meath.

I am sure the Deputy will agree, it is important that communities work together with An Garda Síochána in relation to such behaviour. Reporting by the public of illegal activity, including drug dealing or intimidation, is important to assist in this work and there are a range of channels to do so, including through the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111. I encourage anyone with information in that regard to contact An Garda Síochána in this way.

More broadly, the Deputy will be interested to know, I am progressing the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which will increase the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from ten years to life in prison. These new laws will ensure that An Garda Síochána and our Courts have the tools they need to take firm and decisive action to deal with our most serious criminals.

Justice Plan 2023 commits to working to break the links between gangs and the children they seek to recruit. This includes draft legislation to outlaw the grooming of children into a life of crime. In parallel, we will also continue to roll out the evidence-based community intervention programme “Greentown”, which seeks to break the link between children who are engaged, or at risk of engaging, with a criminal gang.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, by law the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration of An Garda Síochána, including the distribution of Garda members between the various Garda Divisions. I have no role in these operational matters.

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

I am advised by the Garda authorities that as of 31 May 2023, the latest date for which figures are available, there is a total of 13,927 Garda members.

I am further informed that it is not possible to provide a figure for the number of Gardaí on duty at any one time due to the fluctuating nature of crossovers, rosters, and other necessary changes.

I understand that it is a matter for the Divisional Chief Superintendent to determine the optimum distribution of duties among the personnel available to them, having regard to the profile of each area within the Division and its specific needs.

Further detailed information in relation to Garda numbers is available on my Department’s website. This information is updated every month with the latest data provided by An Garda Síochána, and includes the number of Gardaí by station across the whole country.

The information can be found at the following link:

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

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a statutory body with staff drawn from An Garda Síochána, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (including Customs), the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Justice.

Under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible for the management and control of the administration and business of the Criminal Assets Bureau, including the staffing of the Bureau. Under the Act, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána for these functions. As Minister for Justice I have no direct role in these functions, nor can I comment on them.

As evident in the almost 13% increase in funding since 2021, the Government is committed to ensuring that adequate resources are provided to support the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau in targeting the proceeds of crime. Resourcing requirements for 2024 will be determined as part of the normal Estimates process.

The Bureau’s remit is to target the assets, wherever situated, of persons which derive or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction, disrupting the activities of criminal gangs through the removal of their ill-gotten gains and has been recognised as a world leader in asset investigations, tracing and forfeiture.

The Bureau works closely with Gardaí and all law enforcement agencies at national and international levels and continues to focus its efforts on targeting assets deriving from all types of criminal conduct.

I am advised by the Bureau that figures relating to asset recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Acts by CAB for the years 1996 to 2021 are available publicly in the annual reports published on the Bureau's website:

www.cab.ie/annual-reports/.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 546 and 549 together.

Whilst Ireland is a comparatively safe country in international terms, I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities. The Budget 2023 allocation of over €2 billion will allow for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff, with recruits entering Templemore every 11 weeks.

The Deputy will appreciate the Garda Commissioner is operationally responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, including responsibility for the recruitment, training and deployment of Garda members.

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.

The number of recruits have continued to grow in each class following the re-opening of college after Covid-19. A total of 92 recruits entered the training college in late November 2022, 135 in February 2023, 154 in May with a further intake expected this month.

The Deputy will also note that almost 5,000 people applied to join An Garda Síochána in this year’s recruitment campaign. This is in line with the last pre-Covid campaign in 2019, which shows demand to join An Garda Síochána is as strong as ever. This most recent campaign, which closed on 14 April, will provide a stream of candidates for future intakes.

As of the end of May 2023, there were 13,927 Garda members across the country. This represents an increase of almost 9% since 2015. In addition, the civilianisation programme has freed up almost 900 Garda members from back office work for front line policing work since 2015.

I can assure the Deputy that the Government remains committed to reaching its current targets of 15,000 Gardaí and 4,000 Garda staff and I will be engaging with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, over the coming months, to secure the resources in 2024 to ensure that we continue to make progress towards those targets.

I can confirm to the Deputy that I can confirm that there are currently 370 recruits in the Garda College in Templemore and that the next attestation is due to take place later this month.

For the Deputy's information, detailed statistics on Garda workforce numbers, including details of probationer allocations, are published on gov.ie and are regularly updated by my Department, from information supplied by An Garda Síochána. Probationer statistics can be accessed using the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/7c2e6-probationer-gardai/.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have the resources, the equipment and the technology necessary to do their jobs in protecting people from harm and saving lives.

As part of this commitment, I am working to ensure Gardaí have body worn cameras and to extend the powers governing Garda use of CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

Such technology will enhance frontline policing capability and help prevent crime and prosecute those involved in criminal activity.

Body worn cameras, in particular, will help improve front-line capability with the accurate recording of incidents, expedite analysis, enhance situational awareness, and protect police from harm.

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 procurement and allocation of Garda equipment. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

Following Government approval, the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 was published in August 2022 and completed committee stage last week. The Government have now agreed to prioritise this legislation to enactment. Once enacted, the legislation will provide a legal basis for the deployment and use of body-worn cameras by An Garda Síochána.

The Bill will also extend extend An Garda Síochána’s use of CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to prevent crime and to aid with prosecution of those involved in criminal activity.

While procurement and deployment of these devices, including related timelines, will be an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner once the legislation has been enacted, I am supportive of them being brought into operation at the earliest opportunity.