130. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí currently assigned to stations in Louth; the number of these deployed for tackling drug crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12522/25]

Deputy Erin McGreehan: This question relates to the number of gardaí deployed at stations in County Louth and, in particular, the number deployed to tackle drug crime.

Deputy Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the Deputy for raising the question on the numbers of gardaí in County Louth. I have been advised by An Garda Síochána that the numbers deployed tackling drug crime specifically cannot be shared for operational reasons. I commend An Garda Síochána on its excellent work yesterday or the day before when it apprehended a very large seizure of cocaine that was illegally and unlawfully brought into the country. That is a continuation of very considerable success that the Gardaí have had in recent years.

There are currently 14,167 Garda members across the country, an increase of around 10% since 2015. Of this number, there are 364 Garda members assigned to stations in County Louth. As I said, for operational reasons the Garda does not want me to identify how many are working in the area of drug crime. However, I commend An Garda Síochána on its recent success in Louth, where it seized drugs with an estimated value of €230,000 in Dunleer, and an estimated value of €1.9 million in an operation across Louth and Dublin. There is considerable work being done by An Garda Síochána in respect of apprehending criminals who are bringing drugs into the country.

The work is ongoing in respect of what is happening in the Deputy's constituency of Louth. It is important that the Garda be resourced in respect of its constant campaign against drug trafficking. It has had considerable successes recently. Some of the larger cases going on in the Central Criminal Court relate to large amounts of drugs that have been seized by An Garda Síochána and that were being unlawfully imported into the country.