The high visibility garda presence in Dublin city centre over the last few months will be maintained, the Minister for Justice has said.
It follows a report in The Irish Times that the extra €10 million for garda overtime in Dublin, which Minister Helen McEntee announced last summer, is now being used up.
A heightened garda presence was put in place following riots in the city in November, following an attack near a school on Parnell Square East in which a woman and three children were injured.
A five-year-old girl remains in hospital since the 23 November attack.
An initial protest near the scene of the attack escalated causing major disruption in the capital.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Minister McEntee said Commissioner Drew Harris had assured her that the high visibility presence in Dublin over the last few months will be maintained.
Asked if the policing levels in Dublin will return to the levels of last year, she said the commissioner assured her that whatever resources are needed to ensure the continuation of high visibility policing, will be available.
The minister said: “The overtime budget for this year has actually increased by €28 million and I have no doubt that a significant portion of that will go to Dublin.
“But whatever resources are needed to make sure that that high visibility presence that we have had for the last number of weeks and months, that that is maintained, I have been assured that that will be the case.”
Minister McEntee said that although there will be changes to teams – as there always are within an organisation – the high visibility presence that people have seen over the last few months will be maintained.
