As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who 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.
I am advised by the Commissioner that the Serious Crime Review Team comes under the command of Assistant Commissioner, Special Crime Operations. The Serious Crime Review Team has a national remit and assists local district offices as required and as such the numbers for the DMR North are not collected as requested.
I have been informed by the Detective Chief Superintendent with responsibility for the Serious Crime Review Team that the current complement of the team is as follows:
1 x Detective Superintendent
1 x Detective Inspector
4 x Detective Sergeants
12 x Detective Gardaí .
The size of the team has remained broadly the same since 2017.