145. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda members allocated to the Waterford divisional drugs unit in each of the years 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019. [40090/19]

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for managing An Garda Síochána, including in relation to personnel matters. Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the number of Garda members attached to the Waterford Drugs Unit for each of the periods sought by the Deputy is as set out in the following table

The Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime.

Since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, almost 2,800 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to mainstream duties nationwide. I am pleased to say that we are on target to achieve the Government's a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians.