Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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461. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Garda districts within the DMR that received additional Garda vehicles to date in 2024, in tabular form. [22893/24]

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 the purchase, allocation, and effective and efficient use of Garda vehicles. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions.

The unprecedented allocation of over €2.35 billion for 2024 to An Garda Síochána 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.

There are now 3,516 vehicles in the Garda fleet, the highest ever, and an increase of over 34% since 2015. The fleet includes 2,658 cars, 565 vans, 139 motorcycles, 102 4x4 and 52 others (refers to MPV, SUV, Minibus or Prisoner Conveyance Vehicles).

The table below, which was provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of new vehicles allocated to each District within the DMR in 2024 as of 30 April 2024.

The purchase and allocation of vehicles by An Garda Síochána is made on the basis of identified operational demands, the availability of resources and is reviewed on a continual basis.

For the Deputy's information, in the interest of transparency An Garda Síochána publish monthly reports detailing the breakdown of the Garda fleet by vehicle type and District. These reports can be viewed at the following link:

www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/finance-services/finance-fleet-management.html

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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462. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of e-bikes seized by gardaí within the Kildare division in 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [22894/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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It has not been possible to collate and examine all the information requested by the Deputy in the time available. I will write to the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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463. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update on the community access support team trial in Limerick. [22910/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Final Report and Recommendations of the High Level Task Force to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of those who come into contact with the criminal justice sector was published by myself and the Minister for Health in September 2022. The recommendations aim to ensure better support for people at the earliest point at which they encounter the criminal justice system and to divert them away from it where possible, while supporting them in their rehabilitation from addiction and in the recovery and management of their illness. One of the recommendations that came from the work of the subgroup of the High Level Task Force that looked at diversion, was the development of a Community Access Support Team or CAST. The development of the CAST approach should enhance diversionary practices for those experiencing crisis and situational trauma that leads to mental health difficulties. This approach moves towards the shared goal of providing a compassionate and effective response to people in distress and improving the experience and outcomes for those experiencing distress and those providing support.

Before nationwide rollout, the pilot project CAST will be trialled in the Limerick Garda Division. It is a partnership pilot between An Garda Síochána and the Mental Health Services HSE, Mid-West Community Healthcare. The pilot project is not a mental health de-escalation unit, but will endeavour to establish an appropriate co-response approach to calls relating to mental health and situational trauma. Contact is ongoing between officials from my Department and the Department of Health, An Garda Síochána and the Health Service Executive on the delivery of this initiative.