Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 224 and 225 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 An Garda Síochána for 2023, which is allowing for sustained and ongoing recruitment and investment in new equipment and new vehicles.

This level of funding is providing for a steady pipeline of new Gardaí, with new recruits entering the Garda College approximately every 11 weeks. Whilst the necessary temporary closure of the Garda College during the Covid-19 pandemic put an unfortunate pause on recruitment, the number of recruits has continued to grow in each class following the re-opening of the College.

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 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 the table below sets out the number of Garda members assigned to the DMR South Central Division by station for the years 2020 up to 2022, and up to 31 August 2023, the latest date for when figures are available.

DMR South Central	Station	2020	2021	2022	Aug 2023
COMMAND & CONTROL	COMMAND & CONTROL	61	58	52	46
DONNYBROOK	DONNYBROOK	105	105	107	93
	IRISHTOWN	56	57	53	49
	TOTAL	161	162	160	142
KEVIN STREET	KEVIN STREET	175	171	160	175
	KILMAINHAM	64	58	58	54
	TOTAL	239	229	218	229
PEARSE STREET	PEARSE STREET	270	261	250	247
Total		731	710	680	664

The table below sets out the number of Community Gardaí assigned to the DMR South Central Division by station for the years 2020 up to 2022 and at the 31 August 2023, the latest date for which figures are available.

Community Gardaí assigned to the D.M.R. South Central	2020	2021	2022	Aug 2023
Kevin Street	11	11	5	7
Kilmainham	10	9	10	11
Pearse Street	28	26	22	20
Donnybrook	4	4	4	8
Irishtown	4	4	3	4
Total	57	54	44	50

I am informed by the Garda authorities that for operational security reasons they are unable to disclose details of Garda members assigned to specialist units, however, the information in the tables below set out the number of Garda members assigned to Roads Policing and the Drugs unit in the DMR South Central Division for the years requested.

Drugs Unit - DMR South Central	2020	2021	2022	Aug 2023
Total	10	6	4	16

Roads Policing - DMR South Central	2020	2021	2022	Aug 2023
TOTAL	15	15	13	13

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.