Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 April 2024
108. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí, by rank, attached to DMR north central divisional drugs unit as of 4 April 2024; if she will provide the same figures as of 31 March 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15571/24]
View answerAs 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 managing the deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. As Minister, I have no role in these matters.
I am assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities.
The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to keep people safe. An Garda Síochána has been allocated unprecedented funding of over €2.35 billion for 2024 representing a 25% increase since 2020. This funding will allow for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that as of 31 March 2024, the latest date for when figures are available, there was a total of 14,059 Garda members nationwide. This represents an increase of almost 10% since the end of December 2015. In addition, the provision of Garda staff has freed up almost 900 Garda members from back office work for front line policing work since 2015.
I am also advised by the Garda authorities that at the end of March 2024 there were 320 Garda members assigned to Divisional Drugs Units nationwide. This includes 274 Gardaí, 39 Sergeants and 7 Inspectors. This represents an increase of over 38% since the end of December 2019 when there were 231 Garda members assigned to these units.
The table below, which was provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Garda members attached to Divisional Drugs Unit in the DMR North Central on 31 March 2022 and on 31 March 2024.
|
Drug Unit DMR North Central |
Inspector |
Sergeant |
Garda |
Total |
|
31/03/2024 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
25 |
|
31/03/2022 |
1 |
3 |
20 |
24 |
Please note that this information is based upon operational data which has been provided by An Garda Síochána and may be liable to change.
