Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What I found really interesting, and which may not be commonly understood by the public, is that one presumes air support is to back up a Garda pursuit but it is used for all sorts of support to the Garda. It is the eyes in the air providing crucial intelligence. I will not get into it but the criminals need to be very worried about the technology it provides to assist gardaí on the ground to capture people who are a threat to the public. They have great enthusiasm for what they do. The only concern is that I got a sense that hours have been cut back over recent years. The cutting edge they can give gardaí on the ground is remarkable and my concern is that the Garda helicopter is in the air for fewer hours than in recent years. Rather than turn it into a political football, since everybody in this House would agree that we need to give them everything we can, I urge the Minister to examine that area to ensure we give them every support we can into the future.

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