FORCE FUNDS

Gardai use €10m in overtime funding to enhance visibility and target criminality in Dublin city

• Published: 15:01, 22 Aug 2023
• Updated: 15:01, 22 Aug 2023

GARDAI have started to use the €10m overtime funding provided by Government to enhance visibility and target criminality in the capital.

It is expected that the overtime will result in more than 16,500 additional policing hours per month being delivered in Dublin city centre across the two divisions.

In the course of Operation Citizen, there will be a strong focus by gardai on tackling street level drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and seizure of alcohol in Dublin city centre.

There will also be an enhanced visible garda presence at strategic locations in Dublin city centre such as main thoroughfares and the Liffey Boardwalk.

The plan will see increased deployment of the Garda National Public Order Unit in the city centre with 20 per cent of the €10m in overtime being dedicated to providing additional support on a daily basis.

There has now been over 1,500 arrests across Dublin between July 28 and August 20.

sh

As well as uniform gardai, specialist units such as the Garda Air Support Unit, the Garda Mounted Unit, the Garda Dog Unit, Regional Armed Response Units, and Road Policing Units will be deployed to enhance Garda visibility in the city centre.

There will be also be planned days of high impact visibility in the city centre involving checkpoints, execution of warrants, service of summonses, intelligence-led searches and arrests, immigration checks, and enforcement of road traffic offences.

These days of high impact visibility will be replicated across the other Garda Divisions in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

High visibility patrols on the transport network in addition to patrols in the vicinity of transport services at peak times will be maintained under Operational Saul.