Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The unprecedented allocation of €2.31 billion to An Garda Síochána in 2023 and 2024, up 23 per cent since 2020, demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring An Garda Síochána has provision for the equipment, technology, facilities, fleet and personnel it needs to carry out vital policing work.

I can however 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.

Through Government investment, over 13,000 mobility devices have been rolled out. This is the highest ever level of mobility devices and allows Gardaí to conduct policing tasks outside of the station.

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 and efficient use of Garda resources. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that on 19 October 2023 there were 200 Roads Policing members participating in the Pilot of the ANPR Application on their Active Mobility Device. This represents 1.4% of all sworn members.

I am further advised that when the joint work on Insurance Data is completed with the Motor Insurer’s Bureau of Ireland, it is anticipated that the ANPR Application will be extended to all members.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The unprecedented allocation of over €2 billion for 2023 and €2.3 billion for 2024 to An Garda Síochána, up 23 per cent since 2020, demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring An Garda Síochána has provision for the equipment, technology, facilities, fleet and personnel it needs to carry out vital policing work.

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 and efficient use of Garda vehicles. As Minister, I have no role in such 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.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that on 30 September 2023, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 47 unmarked vans assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR).

The following table sets out the location of these vans by Division.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The unprecedented allocation of over €2.3 billion to An Garda Síochána for 2024, up 23 per cent since 2020, demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring the Gardaí have provision for the equipment, technology, facilities, fleet and personnel it needs to carry out vital policing work. Following Budget 2024, I announced that this allocation would allow for the recruitment of between 800 -to 1,000 new Garda recruits.

As the Deputy will be aware, by law the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, including Garda recruitment competitions and when they are held. As Minister, I have no role in these matters. The Commissioner has informed me of his intention that annual recruitment campaigns will be held.

Additional funding made available in Budget 2024 will provide for an increase in the allowance payable to Garda trainees to €305, per week, a 66% increase.

The level of funding provided to An Garda Síochána has allowed for a steady pipeline of new Gardaí, with a new batch of recruits entering the Garda College every 11 weeks or so this year. The next recruitment competition will launch in the coming months.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Currently, admission to the Garda trainee programme is governed by the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013 (as amended). The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recommended a variety of entry pathways to An Garda Síochána.

One of the recommendations was that police officers applying to transfer to An Garda Síochána should be allowed to do so, after due process of interviews and references. They also recommended that police officers should not be required to undertake the full recruit training, but should instead have an intensive induction course to cover Irish government, laws and practices that may differ from other jurisdictions. These recommendations are still being considered.

Section 50 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill deals with the appointment of persons to ranks below the rank of Chief Superintendent. This section provides that the Garda Commissioner may appoint, in accordance with regulations, persons to any rank below the rank of Chief Superintendent.

The broad nature of this provision is intended to facilitate, through regulations, the implementation of a number of recommendations contained in the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland report. These relate to direct entry routes into An Garda Síochána, at appropriate levels, for suitable candidates with experience from outside of the policing sphere or with relevant policing experience in other jurisdictions. In relation to the Deputy’s question, this would include members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.