I am informed by the Garda authorities that records are not kept in such a way as to readily extract the annual cost of the Garda Drugs Unit based at Harcourt Square. The unit consists of 28 personnel who have access to Garda vehicles, administration and forensic facilities. The cost of the unit would include not only the cost of salaries but also the cost of these ancillary facilities.
Because of the number of variable factors involved in the illegal sale of drugs, the value of drugs seized could only be estimated very roughly, if at all. For this reason, it is not possible to give an accurate value of the drugs seized. However, the quantities seized are accurately quantifiable and are as set out below:—