I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána is fully committed to tackling all forms of crime and theft everywhere in the country. The Government's first priority is to increase Garda numbers and Garda visibility so all of our communities, rural and urban, can feel safe and be safe. This is reflected in the record allocation of €2.59 billion in the Garda Vote for 2026, which will support investment in equipment and technology and, importantly, the continued recruitment of Garda personnel.

I must be clear, though, that it is the Garda Commissioner who decides where to deploy Garda personnel. Neither the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, nor I, nor, indeed, any official from the Department, can direct the Commissioner on where gardaí are to be stationed. I am pleased to confirm, however, that recruitment to An Garda Síochána is gathering real momentum, and we now have a steady pipeline of new recruits entering the Garda College. Some 194 new gardaí attested from Templemore in mid-November, taking the total this year to 619, the largest number of new gardaí in a single year since 2018. A total of 794 new recruits entered the college this year. We can look forward to seeing those probationer gardaí assigned throughout the country in 2026 as they pass out of Templemore.

It must also be noted that the allocation of newly attested gardaí allows for currently serving gardaí to move on transfer to other divisions across the country and into specialist units. In this regard, I understand that a number of gardaí have been transferred into the Sligo-Leitrim division during the course of 2025.

With regard to theft, the Government takes this issue extremely seriously. Thanks to the effective work of An Garda Síochána, almost all property crime types have seen decreases at a nationwide level. In the Sligo-Leitrim division, there has been a 50% reduction in reported burglaries in the year to date. In addition, thefts and related offences, thefts from shops and vehicle thefts are also down by 26%, 29% and 39%, respectively, in the first half of this year when compared to the same period last year.

Earlier this year, Sligo Garda station was identified as one of several stations that experienced crime rates above pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with theft accounting for nearly one third of all incidents. It is imperative that we shine a spotlight on rural crime and the emerging trends in the north-west. In Donegal and Sligo, there has been a marked rise in theft and arson, leaving communities anxious and unsettled. County Leitrim has witnessed an increase in burglaries. Only last Friday, a property was broken into in broad daylight at 1 p.m., which is a stark reminder of the growing boldness of criminal activity.

The Minister of State said 194 gardaí and 17 reserves were sworn in last month, but none of those were assigned to the Sligo-Leitrim Garda division. It is a continuing pattern. More gardaí should be assigned to that area, when we consider the crime statistics.

It was encouraging to see that the CSO crime statistics, released last week, show that detection rates for crime incidents reported in 2024 were equal to or above those in 2023 for nine of the 14 crime offence groups.

The Department is currently progressing work to develop a retail crime strategy to tackle the complex and evolving nature of retail crime, which the Deputy mentioned. We are all too conscious that this is not just about organised retail crime, and that there is a large amount of lower level, everyday shoplifting, which has just as serious an impact on smaller retailers and their staff. The retail crime strategy will build on existing initiatives to tackle this criminality, integrating the latest national and international evidence-informed approaches for enforcement and prevention strategies, in addition to supports for retail workers.

In September, at the National Ploughing Championships, the Department published the rural safety plan for the period from 2025 to 2027. The plan’s vision is to ensure people and communities in rural Ireland feel safe and are safe in their homes, places of work and local communities.

The Department has been informed by the Garda authorities that works are planned for Sligo Garda station in the immediate term. These works will support a scene of crime task force relocation. The project is at the tender evaluation stage. In accordance with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines, a preliminary business case for a new Garda divisional headquarters in Sligo is also being undertaken by An Garda Síochána. Once complete, the preliminary business case will be issued by An Garda Síochána to the Department for review and approval. Following approval of that preliminary business case, An Garda Síochána will then advise the Office of Public Works regarding the prioritisation of the programme. We will convey the Deputy's invitation to visit the region to the Garda Commissioner, and the Deputy will be duly informed.