Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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727. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide the number of Gardaí currently serving the Bray district area in 2024 [44315/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the deployment of Garda members throughout the State.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that a distribution model is used which takes into account all relevant factors including population, crime trends and the policing needs of each individual Division.

I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that personnel assigned throughout the country, together with the overall policing arrangements and operational strategies are continually monitored and reviewed. Such monitoring ensures that optimum use is made of resources and the best possible policing service is provided to the general public.

The Government is committed to supporting Garda recruitment. In Budget 2025 over €2.48 billion has been allocated to An Garda Síochána. This is a 27% increase since 2020 and will allow for the sustained recruitment of new Garda recruits through to next year.

A number of actions have been taken to support increased recruitment. I have increased the age of entry from 35 to 50 and most recently increased the training allowance to €354, representing an increase of over 92% in the last 12 months.

At the end of June 2024 there were 283 Garda members and 34 Garda staff assigned to Wicklow Division.

The table below, which was provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Garda members assigned to Bray District by rank at the end of June 2024, the latest date for when figures broken down by Division, District and Station are available. The Bray district consists of the Garda stations in Bray, Enniskerry, Greystones and Newtownmountkennedy.

Please be advised that these figures are operational and may be subject to change.

In the interest of transparency, information in relation to the allocation of Probationer Gardaí by Division and Station breakdown is publicly available and can be found at the following link. I can also advise the Deputy that I have received the most recent figures for the attestation on 20 September 2024 from An Garda Síochána which has been published on the website:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/bd777-an-garda-siochana-your-police-service-some-facts-and-figures/