Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 April 2017
107. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the Dublin armed response unit; if it is now operational; the number of gardaí assigned to it; if any of its members have been reassigned from existing Garda units; if so, the number of such gardaí; if all the vacancies arising in those units from reassignment have been filled; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18664/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources.
At the request of the Commissioner in 2016, the Government moved decisively to strengthen Garda resources to deal with gang-related crime in the Dublin area. The Government consistently made clear that we would fund whatever measures were needed for An Garda Síochána to best tackle the critical and unprecedented challenges they have been facing in relation to organised crime. As well as introducing strengthened legislation, the Deputy will recall that I secured Government approval for significant extra funding to maintain the necessary policing response to the current situation on an ongoing basis. There has also been a significant step-up in recruitment to An Garda Síochána, with a target of 15,000 Garda Members by 2021. In particular funding was approved for the establishment of a dedicated Armed Support Unit for the DMR in order to enhance armed support capability in Dublin and to free up the resources of the ERU. Following a selection and training process, the Armed Support Unit (ASU) for the DMR is now fully operational and providing armed cover on a 24 hour basis. All the necessary resources have been provided to equip the new ASU and steps have also been taken to upgrade the equipment available to the Emergency Response Unit and the Special Detective Unit. I am advised by the Garda Commissioner that members were assigned to this unit from existing resources and further advised that the information requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of Gardaí assigned to the ASU is deemed to be operationally sensitive and cannot be disclosed for security reasons.
