Targeting the work of organised crime groups who inflict intimidation and violence on families and communities across Limerick and Ireland is a top priority for our Department and the Government. Since my appointment, I have met with the gardaí in Limerick and I know they, along with their colleagues in Garda national units, are committed to targeting organised criminal groups and individuals involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs. They are pursuing charges against people suspected of involvement in organised crime and have successfully secured convictions in the courts against organised criminals. The Gardaí has advised the Government it is carrying out a range of both high-visibility and covert operations on an ongoing basis to support public safety in Limerick. Garda activities in Limerick include separate ongoing operations targeting money laundering activities by organised criminals involved in the drug trade, burglary, disrupting drug dealing networks and providing a daily proactive policing presence in areas affected by serious criminality in Limerick. The Garda Commissioner assigned 30 new probationer gardaí to the Limerick division in 2025, the highest annual allocation since 2020. Limerick has also been one of three pilot sites for the deployment of body-worn cameras, which enable gardaí to record incidents and have been found to support deterrence of criminal activity. We are also taking a range of other measures to tackle organised crime more broadly, including increasing to life in prison the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder to tackle those who direct gangland and drug-related crime. We are enacting new laws that will criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime. We have new laws to provide for the use of facial recognition technology in the investigation of certain drug offences, and legislation to reduce the time that assets must be confiscated by the Criminal Assets Bureau before disposal. It is also important to acknowledge that community safety is not just a matter for An Garda Síochána. As the Deputy knows, we are rolling out the community safety partnerships, which are the successor to the joint policing committees. The delay in rolling out the Limerick one is with the local authority. I also want to mention that, in Limerick, which Deputy Quinlivan is well aware of, there is the work by the CAST team, which is led by Superintendent Andrew Lacey, which is doing fantastic work with vulnerable people and people with mental health challenges. That brings together both the HSE and other agencies to deal with those cases.

Sentiment score: -0.16

It is important to put on the record and inform the Deputy's constituents and my own in Limerick that, as of 30 November 2025, the most recent information available is there are 607 gardaí assigned to the Limerick division, which is a net increase of 25 since the beginning of last year and an increase of 53, which is about 10%, since 2015. As the Deputy knows, the Garda Commissioner assigned 30 probationer gardaí to Limerick during 2025, which is the highest annual allocation since 2020. There are 35 gardaí assigned to the Garda roads policing unit, an increase of five since the start of last year, and there are 32 designated community gardaí, an increase of two since the start of last year. Additionally, we have 71 Garda civilian staff assigned to the Limerick division, which is freeing up a huge amount of time and resources of sworn gardaí to be devoted to front-line policing.

Sentiment score: 0.50

As the Minister has just said, he has been to and is no stranger to Limerick. I outline to the Deputy the huge increase in numbers of personnel to Limerick. There will be further allocations around the country next week. There will be a significant allocation of new probationer gardaí which I think the Deputy will welcome, when we have that officially next week. I want to detail to the Deputy and the people of Limerick - the Deputy's constituents and mine - the number of Garda operations ongoing in Limerick at present, because it is important. First, Operation TARA is a dedicated local drugs unit which continues to detect and investigate drug trafficking offences. Provisional figures for 2025 indicate a 13% increase in detections for possession of controlled drugs for sale. There is also Operation Coronation, which is ongoing in the Limerick division and focuses on the investigation and prosecution of money laundering offences. We have Operation Gealbhan which is on the south side of Limerick city and provides an increased Garda presence through covert and overt patrolling to prevent and detect incidents of serious criminality. We have Operation Silverside, which commenced in January 2023 and focuses on the activities of persons based in the west Limerick area involved in organised criminality on the Continent of Europe and beyond. Finally, we have Operation Thor which is aimed at targeting organised crime gangs and repeat offenders in the Limerick division through co-ordinated crime prevention and enforcement activity. The 2025 figures indicate a 38% reduction in burglaries in Limerick. The Deputy can see there is a lot of positive outcomes happening in policing in Limerick. I thank him for raising all those issues and giving us the opportunity to put it on the record.

Sentiment score: 0.12