Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
935. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 462 on 13 February 2024, if she has received the necessary information from the Garda authorities to have this PQ answered. [12600/24]
View answerI note that the Deputy previously asked for the number of Gardaí, by rank, attached to the Garda Water Unit as of 2 February 2024 and the same figures as of 1 March 2021. At the time I requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Unfortunately, the information was not received in time.
As the Deputy will be aware the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes the allocation of Garda members to a given Division, District, Station or specialist unit. As Minister I have no role in this and cannot seek to direct the Commissioner in relation this process.I am assured that the Commissioner keeps the allocation of these resources under continued review to ensure their optimum use. Among the factors considered are population statistics, crime trends and operational policing demands.
The Garda authorities have informed me that the number of Gardaí assigned to the Water Unit for the time periods requested are fewer than 10. As the Deputy may already be aware, further data is not released by An Garda Síochána for counts of fewer than 10 for data protection and security reasons.
