18. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice if she will provide a regional breakdown of where charges for possession of a controlled drug for personal use have been issued in the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8325/24]

Helen McEntee, Minister for Justice: As the Deputy is aware, the Government’s approach to the misuse of drugs is set out in Ireland’s National Drug Strategy, ‘Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery’.

This is a health-led approach to drug and alcohol use in Ireland, and it represents a whole-of-Government response to reduce demand and associated harms. The Government is also committed to limiting access to illegal drugs to the greatest extent possible.

I can assure the Deputy that tackling drug dealing and associated criminal activity, including by organised crime groups and those who fuel this very harmful and illegal trade, is a top priority for An Garda Síochána and the Government.

I will continue to provide An Garda Síochána with the resources it needs to ensure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe. This is reflected in the unprecedented allocation of €2.35 billion in Budget 2024. The significant increase in resources in recent years has allowed the Garda Commissioner to increase the number of Gardaí assigned to specialist drugs units by almost 47% since the end of December 2018.

The record budgetary resources allocated to An Garda Síochána in recent years have enabled the Garda Commissioner to assign extra resources to the specialist units involved in tackling organised crime, including the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Armed Support Unit and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

Since 2015 up to the end of 2022, over €345m in drugs have been sized by the Gardaí. Since then there have been a number of high-profile, high value seizures. Just last week, following a joint operation at Cork Port between An Garda Síochána and Revenue’s Customs Service, Gardaí along with Revenue Officers seized 546kg of a synthetic drug, with an estimated value of €32.8 million. In the same week Gardaí also arrested a man following a seizure of drugs worth over €6.4 million at Rosslare Europort by Revenue Officers. The detention of the MV Matthew in Cork last year saw the seizure of approximately €157 million worth of drugs, dealing a major blow to criminal enterprises. These seizures, and many smaller ones that do not make the headlines, demonstrates the excellent work of Cork Gardaí and their partner agencies at disrupting the supply of drugs into the country.

The GNDOCB has lead responsibility in tackling all forms of drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs in Ireland and is supported by Divisional Drugs Units, which tackle drug related crime on a local basis throughout the country. I am further informed that Divisional Drug Units are now established in every Garda Division.

I am informed by Garda authorities that charges for possession of a controlled drug for personal use has risen in 2023 in three of the four Garda regions since 2019.

I am further advised that in this time charges for this offence have risen from 2,789 to 4,295 in the Dublin Region, from 967 to 1,685 in the Eastern Region, and from 872 to 1,123 in the Southern Region. When compared with 2019, there has been no increase for this offence in the North Western Region in 2023.

While I am concerned to see this increase, it is important to note that an individual may be charged multiple times for the same offence during a given year. We must also recognise that it also reflects the increased Garda numbers on frontline policing duties and the concentrated work of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.

I am advised that this is operational data taken from PULSE on 16 February 2024 and is liable to change. It should also be noted that this data captures charges, rather than unique individuals.