415. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Justice the number of people who have had charges entered against them for simple possession of a controlled drug for their own personal use in each of the years 2017 to 2022 and to date in 2023. [46656/23]

Minister for Justice  Helen McEntee: As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) which includes the recording of information on, and the maintenance of, the PULSE system. Data on drugs generally is provided in PULSE incidents recorded by An Garda Síochána.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the table below indicates the number of charges created annually since 2017 where the offence was ‘Possession Of Drugs Contrary to Section 3 MDA’. MDA refers to the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977.

It is important to note, however, these are unique charges rather than unique people. A person may be charged multiple times for the same offence during a given year.

*The 2023 count is to 21 October 2023. Information supplied is operational and, as such, is subject to change.