Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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429. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda members assigned to roads policing units; if her Department will update the website with publication of figures for the month of July and August 2024, by Garda division; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40944/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Road safety is a shared responsibility, and while the whole of Government response is led by the Department of Transport, it is one which is taken very seriously across Government. We have all been shocked by the loss of life on our roads, and concerned by the worrying increase in road fatalities after many years of progress in making our roads safer.

I continue to engage with colleagues across Government to ensure that every effort is made to increase safety on our roads.

Road traffic laws are enforced by Gardaí assigned to Roads Policing and as part of the day-to-day duties of uniformed Gardaí nationwide. This includes a programme of high-visibility road safety and enforcement operations carried out in partnership with other state agencies. Following the Commissioner’s direction, uniform Garda members are now deployed on high visibility roads policing operations, of 30 minutes duration, in each tour of duty.

It is significant that up to 25% of all roads enforcement is undertaken by regular units and 75% of drug/drink driving checks are carried out by regular units.

Every frontline Garda member now has a mobility device, which is essentially a mobile phone that allows them to access a number of specialised Garda apps at the roadside. These include the ability to issue a Fixed Charge Notice, to check a vehicle's insurance status and to see if a vehicle is taxed. These tasks can now be done within moments, without the need to return to the station making much better use of their time. The Commissioner also stated his aim is to have an additional 100 static road safety cameras in place by the end of next year.

I am advised that as of 30 June 2024 there were 622 Roads Policing Gardaí assigned across all Divisions. Funding provided by the Government under Budget 2024 allows for the recruitment of new Gardaí, which will increase the number of frontline Gardaí available to the Garda Commissioner to allocate as he deems appropriate. It is expected that it will soon be possible to allocate more members to the Roads Policing units.

In the interest of transparency, information in relation to the allocation of Roads Policing by Division is publicly available and can be found at the following link. I can also advise the Deputy that I have received the most recent figures for June from An Garda Síochána which have been published on the website .