Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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664. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has reviewed the level of claims for exceptional needs being made to her Department; the number of claims and the average payment under the main categories of payment; and if she is considering changes in the guidelines applying to any of the categories in view of the sort of needs being presented. [40726/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department can make additional needs payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary.

Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

Statistics are prepared and published on a quarterly basis for Additional Needs Payments. Table 1 shows the number of Additional Needs Payments awarded by category in 2023 (to end of June).

The payment amount, which can have a wide range value, will depend on a person’s weekly household income, their outgoings and the type of assistance needed, therefore an average payment amount may not be representative of the trend in payments.

The guidelines issued to staff administering the scheme assist them in the decision making process and ensure consistency of service. However, they do not affect the discretion available to officers in issuing an additional needs payment to assist an individual or household in any particular hardship situation which may arise.

I wish to assure the Deputy that the scheme is kept under review to ensure that it continues to support those most in need of assistance.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to Supplementary Welfare Allowance is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office. In addition, applications can be made online via www.mywelfare.ie.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Table 1 - The number of Additional Needs Payments awarded by category in 2023 (to end of June).

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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665. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of speed checkpoints on Irish roads in each of the past ten years in each county in the State. [39481/23]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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666. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of drink and drug driving check points in Irish roads in each of the past ten years in each county in the State. [39482/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 665 and 666 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, which includes the enforcement of road traffic legislation and the recording of information on Garda IT systems. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that, as per the Garda Síochána Analysis Service (GSAS), checkpoints are recorded on PULSE, but there is no specific incident type for speed checkpoints and this information is not available as a result.

To be of assistance to the Deputy, GSAS have provided the below, which is a yearly breakdown per Garda division of the number of instances in which a party was issued with a Fixed Charge Notice for the offences of speeding.

These figures include both intercept (Garda member) and non-intercept (mobile safety camera van) detections.

*Figures are based on incidents which occurred from 1 January 2014 to 12 September 2023, inclusive.

All information contained in this report is based upon operational data from the FCPS system as was available on 13 September 2023 and is liable to change.

In addition, the table below provides a yearly breakdown per Garda division of the number of Mandatory Intoxication Testing (MIT) Checkpoints carried out from 2014 to date in 2023.

Figures are based on incidents which occurred from 1 January 2014 to 31 August 2023, inclusive.

All information contained in this report is based upon operational data from the PULSE system as was available on 5 September 2023 and is liable to change.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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667. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prosecutions for excess speed, drink driving, drug driving and dangerous driving on Irish roads in each of the past ten years in each county in the State. [39483/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, prosecutions are a matter for the Director of Prosecutions, who is fully independent in her functions under Section 2(5) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 (as amended).

As Minister I have no role in the operations, functions, governance or oversight of the Office of the DPP and am unable to provide any information or statistics relating to the Director's work as a result.

Additionally, management of the courts, along with related operational matters and logistical functions, are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and through the separation of powers in the Constitution.

The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie.

To be of assistance I have referred the Deputy's question to the Courts Service for reply.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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668. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí who have been employed in the roads policing unit in each county in each of the past ten years. [39485/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 668 and 710 together.

The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda Síochána is central to this policy. This commitment is demonstrated by the unprecedented allocation of over €2 billion to the Garda Vote this year, which is allowing for sustained and ongoing recruitment and investment in new equipment and new vehicles.

This level of funding provides for a steady pipeline of new Gardaí in the coming years, supporting the recruitment of up to 1,000 Gardaí and 400 additional Garda staff this year, with new recruits to enter the Garda College approximately every 11 weeks.

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 for the recruitment, training and deployment of Garda members. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

I am however assured that the Commissioner keeps the allocation of these resources under continued review, in line with crime and population trends, to ensure their optimum use.

To be of assistance I sought the information requested by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána and have been advised that at the end of August 2023, the latest date for when figures are available, there were 659 Garda members, which includes 588 Gardaí and 65 Sergeants and 6 Inspectors, assigned to roads policing duty nationwide.

The following table sets out the number of Garda members assigned to roads policing duty by Division from the end of December 2014 up to the end of December 2022, and at the end of August 2023. This information is based upon operational data which has been provided by An Garda Síochána and may be subject to change.

In the interest of transparency, detailed statistics on Garda workforce numbers, including a breakdown by Garda station and Garda rank, are published on gov.ie and are updated regularly by my Department from information provided by An Garda Síochána. The statistics can be accessed using the following link:

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

Please note that this information is operational and may be subject to change.