Since July 1997, the I have enacted an unprecedented amount of legislation designed to ensure that criminals will be caught, brought before the courts and dealt with accordingly. To date, 42 Bills have been enacted and there are eight currently awaiting finalisation in the Dáil.
The current strength of the Garda is over 11,700 and overall strength of the force is on course to reach 12,000 by the end of 2002 as promised in the programme for Government. This will represent the greatest number of gardaí in the history of the State. The Government has also approved 496 civilian posts in Garda stations which will release highly trained gardaí to operational duties.