Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Commissioner. When people turn on Channel 4, Sky One at night time, there are police shows from other countries and other jurisdictions where they seem to be able to exercise an awful lot of force to bring a vehicle to a stop to keep the public safe. While I will not comment on any case because we are not the justice committee here nor would it be right to comment on cases, I would like to think that if I was driving along a dual carriage way or motorway with my family and if a car was going the opposite way, that the guards would be fully empowered in that moment to take whatever intervening action needed. In all realms of An Garda Síochána, full clarity is needed. If a guard has not completed the blue beacon course - I do not have the correct module name of that course in Templemore - and if he or she sees something awry going on in the community that is illegal or illicit, is that guard allowed to tear after that vehicle regardless of whether he or she has completed that course and apprehend it if they can?