1232. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department will restore road policing to 2014 levels.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20990/26]
1233. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current number of Garda members assigned to Roads Policing Units; the way in which this compares with the number assigned in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18972/26]
1234. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current number of Gardaí assigned to dedicated roads policing units; the way this compares with the number assigned in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19656/26]
1235. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will provide details of current road policing levels compared with 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19825/26]

Jim O'Callaghan, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1232, 1287, 1327 and 1331 together.

An Garda Síochána play a vital role in enforcing road traffic law and in making our roads safer for all road users, including vulnerable road users. Road traffic laws are enforced by Gardaí assigned to Roads Policing and as part of the day-to-day duties of uniformed Gardaí nationwide. This includes a programme of high-visibility road safety and enforcement operations carried out in partnership with other state agencies. In this regard it should be noted that around 65% of drug-driving and drink-driving checks are carried out by regular Gardaí.

The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána under section 33 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which includes the distribution and stationing of Gardaí throughout the State and Garda policies.

I am fully committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with Budget 2026 providing unprecedented funding of €2.74 billion to support recruitment, training and staffing. Recruitment into An Garda Síochána is now gathering real momentum and just under 800 trainees entered the Garda College in 2025, the highest number since 2018. As Garda recruitment continues and accelerates, additional Gardaí will become available to be deployed to priority areas.

An Garda Síochána publishes figures in relation to the allocation of Gardaí nationally. This includes a breakdown of Gardaí assigned to Roads Policing by Garda Division from 2014 to the end of January 2026, the latest date for which figures are available. This can be found at the following links:

2014-2025

www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/human-resources-and-people-development/garda-hr-directorate/garda-strength-breakdown-2025/garda-strength-breakdown-2025.html

2026

www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/human-resources-and-people-development/garda-hr-directorate/garda-strength-breakdown-2026/january-2026.html

The Deputy should select the most recent date and then select the file titled ‘Roads Policing by division 2014 to the most recent date" to access a breakdown of Gardaí assigned by Division.

The Deputy may also be interested to note that An Garda Síochána publishes figures relating to Roads Policing Offences on a quarterly basis. This includes Fixed Charge Notices (FCNs) for offences relating to Speeding Overall as well as broken down into Intercept (Garda issued) and Non-Intercept (Speed Camera Van Operator). This can be found at the following link:

www.garda.ie/en/roads-policing/statistics/roads%20policing%20offences%20by%20region%20and%20division

The Deputy can select the “Roads Policing” file for the time period required.