Written answers
Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Department of Justice and Equality
Crime Prevention
Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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575. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to address crime and ensure safety in Dublin 8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15682/25]
Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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This Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to fight crime. The Garda Vote in Budget 2025 saw unprecedented funding of over €2.48 billion for this year.
The Garda Commissioner keeps the distribution of resources under continual review and I will be engaging regularly with him to ensure our Gardaí have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.
My priority is to get more Gardaí on our streets through increased recruitment and appropriate civilianisation where possible. Garda staff working alongside Garda members carry out vital roles to increase availability of frontline Gardaí. The civilianisation process has allowed 900 Gardaí to be freed up for frontline policing duties.
On 7 March 2025, 149 probationer Gardaí attested from the Garda College in Templemore. Of these, 98 were assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
In February, the latest recruitment competition took place. It attracted just over 6,700 applicants. This builds on the 5,000 applications which were received in 2023 and the almost 6,400 last year. There will also be a further recruitment campaign later this year. The overall Garda workforce, which includes Gardaí, civilian staff and Reserves is close to the highest that it’s ever been at almost 18,000.
The Government is committed to implementing the Dublin City Taskforce Report which takes a holistic approach of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin city and ensure our citizens are safe.
I met senior Garda Management including the Garda Commissioner in February and we discussed how to increase the visibility and effectiveness of policing in Dublin city.
There are a number of Garda Operations taking place in Dublin to provide a high-visibility policing presence and deter anti-social behaviour. These include:
- Operation Citizen which aims to deliver an enhanced high-visibility policing presence in Dublin city centre on a daily basis;
- Operation Saul which aims to provide a policing response to effectively tackle anti-social behaviour, public order and criminal activity for commuters using public transport in Dublin;
- Operation Táirge targeting Retail Theft;
- Operation Tara tackling street-level drug dealing.
On a strategic level the Programme for Government sets out ambitious commitments to enhance community safety and build a safer, fairer and more inclusive society.
The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which will come into force this week, provides for the establishment of this national infrastructure, central to which are Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) which will operate at each local authority level. They will build upon the good work of the Joint Policing Committees (JPCs), supplementing this by bringing together a broader range of relevant stakeholders including local councillors, An Garda Síochána, local residents, community representatives, business and education representatives, and a range of statutory agencies including the HSE, Tusla and each local authority.
The objective is to bring the relevant bodies, including the Gardaí, together with communities in a collaborative manner, by focusing on the concerns identified and prioritised by local people.
Gardaí work tirelessly to keep our city safe and I and my Department will continue to provide An Garda Síochána with the resources it needs to ensure communities in Dublin 8 and around Ireland are safe and feel safe.
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