Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Government is investing record amounts into An Garda Síochána to target those involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs through Operation Tara. Operation Tara has a strong focus on tackling street-level dealing across the country, also seeks to disrupt and dismantle the drug trafficking networks that impact on our communities and prosecute those involved at every level.

The Government is committed to limiting access to illegal drugs to the greatest extent possible and are committed to taking a number of direct actions to tackle this, including by:

• Increasing the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life in prison to tackle those who direct gangland and drug related crime
• Introducing new legislation which will criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime
• Rolling out a support programme to break the link between the gangs and the children they try to recruit
• Strengthening CAB’s ability to target the proceeds of crime and speed up the process to dispose of the asset for the benefit of the State.

As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including for all operational policing matters. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

However, to be of assistance, I sought the information requested by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána and have been advised that the table below outlines a count of unique charges/summons associated with the Misuse of Drugs Acts between 2014 and to date in 2024. The Deputy will appreciate that An Garda Síochána does not record information by county; as such the breakdown is provided on a divisional basis.

Region/Division	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024*
Dublin Region	6705	7758	7810	8491	9813	12435	14907	12276	11697	12874	6728
D.M.R. Eastern	308	322	399	428	494	718	833	553	626	525	259
D.M.R. North Central	1491	2556	1784	1773	2219	2281	2904	2253	2614	3422	1746
D.M.R. Northern	1302	1216	1490	1518	1654	2106	2392	2082	1867	2238	1379
D.M.R. South Central	845	1089	1145	1664	1962	2673	2617	1834	1652	2100	999
D.M.R. Southern	1072	1052	1138	1202	1364	1604	2086	1558	1607	1440	739
D.M.R. Western	1687	1523	1854	1906	2120	3053	4075	3996	3331	3149	1606
Eastern Region	4387	4396	5581	6536	7889	8705	8575	7735	7351	7462	2845
Kildare Div	527	481	637	806	960	1145	1658	1421	1370	1538	642
Laois/Offaly	884	940	1021	1357	1702	1505	1544	1178	1364	1567	443
Meath/Westmeath	777	828	1607	1848	2308	2805	1689	1259	1217	1160	473
Waterford/Kilkenny/Carlow	1171	1125	1290	1354	1688	1834	2162	2470	2266	2047	790
Wexford/Wicklow	1028	1022	1026	1171	1231	1416	1522	1407	1134	1150	497
North Western Region	2452	1965	2570	2780	3098	3876	4726	3966	3426	3047	1388
Donegal	268	227	311	375	378	572	758	668	565	469	168
Galway Div	829	695	797	856	922	876	792	686	655	840	432
Louth/Cavan/Monaghan	641	432	765	817	1026	1470	1958	1533	1274	1078	473
Mayo/Roscommon/Longford	512	415	478	507	528	608	816	772	645	437	227
Sligo/Leitrim	202	196	219	225	244	350	402	307	287	223	88
Southern Region	5813	5249	5927	6122	6458	7964	7891	8095	7798	6417	3242
Clare/Tipperary	1277	1129	1063	1231	1346	1676	1555	1614	1126	1114	659
Cork City	1997	1697	1938	1640	1485	1956	2132	2275	2928	1932	1152
Cork North	600	624	679	747	915	1036	1135	1174	936	1006	526
Cork West	468	355	525	573	604	669	603	597	492	498	239
Kerry	704	610	645	781	939	1136	958	903	919	835	268
Limerick	767	834	1077	1150	1169	1491	1508	1532	1397	1032	398
National	19357	19368	21888	23929	27258	32980	36099	32072	30272	29800	14203

*Figures as of PULSE from 1 January to 11 July 2024. All data supplied is operational and subject to change.

As the Deputy will also be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of all crime statistics. This includes statistics for the drug offences, including controlled drug offences, driving/in charge of a vehicle under the influence of drugs, importation of drugs, cultivation or manufacture of drugs, possession of drugs for sale or supply and possession of drugs for personal use.

The CSO produces these statistics using data recorded on An Garda Síochána’s PULSE system and makes regular releases under reservation in relation to various crime statistics.

Figures in respect of drugs offences can be found on the CSO website at the link below.

data.cso.ie/table/CJQ06