Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the recording of traffic offences. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters.

Road traffic legislation is enforced as part of the day-to-day duties of members of An Garda Síochána, as well as through a programme of high-visibility road safety and enforcement operations, carried out in partnership with other State agencies, including the Department of Transport and other Government Departments, the Road Safety Authority, the National Roads Authority, and the community, in order to make our roads safer for all.

It may be of interest to the Deputy to note that, as of the end of February 2024, there were 627 members assigned to the Garda roads policing unit, compared to 623 in 2017. As Garda recruitment continues and accelerates, additional Garda members will become available to be deployed to priority areas. It should also be noted that all front-line Gardaí contribute to policing our roads and keeping them safe. On average 25% of roads policing enforcement is carried out by regular members, with the exception of drug/drink driving checks, 75% of which are carried out by regular members.

As part of Budget 2024, €3.6m additional funding has been allocated for GoSafe speed cameras, continuing the increased level of 9,000 hours monitoring a month through the whole of 2024. The primary purpose of this additional deployment will be to reduce speed-related collisions, reduce injuries and above all save lives.

While An Garda Síochána are focusing their efforts on enforcement, it is also important to recognise that a multi-faceted approach is necessary to reduce fatalities and collisions that cause serious injuries, including campaigns to target driver behaviour, infrastructure improvements such as road design, maintenance and safety features.

Statistics in respect of road traffic offences by Garda Division are published by An Garda Síochána and the Deputy can be find these at the link below.

www.garda.ie/en/roads-policing/statistics/roads%20policing%20offences%20by%20region%20and%20division/

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána including all operational policing matters.

I am informed by the Garda Authorities that there is no specific incident type available in PULSE to capture such activity and that as a result, An Garda Síochána cannot provide any reliable response.

I am assured that a range of regional and local operations have been put in place by Gardaí to prevent and detect criminal activity on public transport. For example, Operation Saul is implemented across the Dublin Region. The aim of Operation Saul is to provide a safe environment for commuters utilising all public transport services in the DMR together with reassuring the citizens, visitors and the business community that Dublin is a safe place in which to visit, socialise, conduct business and enjoy all its amenities.

Operation Saul involves the effective management and planned delivery of all working resources in the DMR to ensure the delivery of both an overt and covert policing response on board Bus, Luas, Dart and Train services to effectively tackle anti-social behaviour, public order and criminal activity on a daily basis.

On Thursday 16 November 2023, a day of action was held in Dublin in collaboration with the Rail Safety Partnership under the auspices of Operational Saul. The operational objective of the operation was achieved by co-ordinating and managing resources in the DMR to deliver both an overt and covert policing response on board Bus, Luas, Dart and Train services, and at Transport Centres within the DMR.

Routine patrols took place by members both on foot and bicycles, as well as mobile patrols at Luas, Bus, Dart and Train Stops. Each Division appointed an Inspectors to co-ordinate policing activities on the day. The operation was a success with a number of arrests and prosecutions arising out of the joint operation.