Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
861. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice the amount of drugs seized under Operation Pier; the number of persons successful charged under this operation to date; if this operation is still live; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14196/24]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes all operational and investigative policing matters. As Minister, I have no role in these matters and cannot seek to direct the Commissioner in relation to such.
Operation Pier was commenced in 2015 in the DMR South Central Region to tackle anti-social behaviour and drug dealing in the Temple Bar area. I have been informed by the Garda authorities that Operation Pier is no longer active in its original format having been subsumed into Operation Citizen in 2022.
As the Deputy may be aware, Operation Citizen was implemented on 22 October 2021 for the purpose of providing reassurance to citizens, visitors and the business community that Dublin city centre is a safe place in which to visit, conduct business, socialise and enjoy its amenities. It aims to deliver a high-visibility policing presence in the city centre on a daily basis.
An Garda Síochána have also advised that they are unable to provide drug seizure values based on PULSE data. The official source for reporting of drug types, quantities and values is the An Garda Síochána Annual Report following analysis and verification by Forensic Science Ireland. The report for 2022, published last October, can be viewed at the following link: www.garda.ie/en/about-us/publications/annual%20reports/an-garda-siochana-annual-reports/an-garda-siochana-annual-report-2022.pdf
To be of assistance to the Deputy, a search of the PULSE database was conducted for Prisoner Logs, Charges and Summons associated with Incidents in the Pearse Street and Store Street Districts with a reported date between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2022. The table below shows the number of arrests, charges and summons by year. These figures relate to all operational activity and not limited to one operation.
|
Year |
Charge |
Arrests |
Summons |
|
2017 |
935 |
630 |
18 |
|
2018 |
1057 |
733 |
33 |
|
2019 |
3020 |
2095 |
148 |
|
2020 |
2540 |
1594 |
111 |
|
2021 |
1660 |
1210 |
134 |
|
2022 |
595 |
367 |
81 |
|
Grand Total |
9807 |
6629 |
525 |
