An Garda Síochána

Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023

Monday, 11 September 2023

Questions (1065)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

1065. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice how many drink driving arrests were made in each county or by Garda division in the country over the past ten years; how many drink driving tests were carried out in each county or Garda division in the past ten years; and how many convictions were achieved for drinking driving in each county or Garda division for the past ten years. [37184/23]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including operational policing matters. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

However, to be of assistance I sought the information requested by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána and have been advised that the table appended to this answer lays out the breakdown per division of the number of incidents of type ‘Intoxicated Driving a Vehicle’ and ‘Intoxicated In Charge of a Vehicle’ where alcohol was a known intoxicant, as recorded on the Garda PULSE system.

I am further informed that these figures relate to incidents where alcohol was a known intoxicant, and are based on incidents which were reported between 1 January 2014 and 23 August 2023, inclusive. All information contained in this report is based upon operational data from the PULSE system as was available on 23 August 2023 and is liable to change.

The Garda authorities have also advised that they cannot provide a breakdown of how many drink driving tests were carried out, as the details of all tests are not recorded on the PULSE system.

I can also advise the Deputy that management of the courts, including operational matters and logistical functions, are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution.

The Courts Service maintains data on convictions, and has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas: [e-mail].

Division	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023*
Cavan/Monaghan	295	296	355	367	330	290	224	237	276	146
Clare	178	158	171	164	141	114	99	86	105	88
Cork City	328	296	312	313	273	232	191	214	233	173
Cork North	262	248	273	277	264	229	182	151	199	138
Cork West	178	189	195	199	182	169	110	93	131	85
D.M.R. Eastern	124	113	95	119	124	111	97	82	102	67
D.M.R. North Central	141	134	184	141	136	141	116	105	125	80
D.M.R. Northern	359	339	340	297	292	261	255	224	246	122
D.M.R. South Central	121	143	124	133	137	88	99	90	125	63
D.M.R. Southern	256	201	221	197	195	178	198	147	175	95
D.M.R. Western	327	317	321	354	289	337	307	251	291	166
Donegal	280	299	331	353	315	340	204	233	300	170
Galway Div	402	440	429	427	367	352	283	262	310	195
Kerry	267	294	261	279	253	246	146	168	190	139
Kildare Div	240	230	277	317	381	289	179	219	267	164
Kilkenny/Carlow	197	196	203	222	211	206	133	107	127	103
Laois/Offaly	176	177	210	248	242	207	121	119	136	95
Limerick	250	269	298	286	262	230	148	159	179	104
Louth Div	166	146	177	160	198	161	133	153	166	91
Mayo/Roscommon/Longford	315	312	334	419	366	260	230	253	269	148
Meath Div	208	215	254	267	276	263	186	187	214	105
Sligo/Leitrim	138	129	133	158	125	112	81	112	126	69
Tipperary	299	271	256	349	323	262	202	198	213	130
Waterford Div	199	195	209	202	179	169	119	143	180	110
Westmeath Div	165	173	192	204	156	131	102	104	147	77
Wexford Div	204	198	228	241	236	192	101	136	142	89
Wicklow Div	127	153	168	138	128	139	110	83	89	59
Grand Total	6202	6131	6551	6831	6381	5709	4356	4316	5063	3071

* 2023 figures cover the period from 01/01/2023 to 23/08/2023.