Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue in the House. The Deputy will appreciate, of course, that Garda training is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. Under section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the training of Garda members and staff. The Minister for Justice has no role in these operational policing matters. I am advised by the Commissioner that the armed support units are regional resources, serving all the Garda districts and divisions in each of the Garda regions.

The armed support units are an overt armed support service and are deployed on a 24-7 basis, providing a high-visibility, tactical armed response, including enhanced, less lethal capability. Members of the armed support units are highly trained and equipped with a variety of non-lethal and lethal weapons and perform high-visibility armed checkpoints and patrols throughout their respective regions.

In the event of an armed incident or similar incident, armed detective members from local district and divisional units will respond, as will the regional armed support unit. Should the incident be escalated and further armed support be required, the national emergency response unit, which is highly trained and specially equipped to respond to the most serious of incidents, is also available.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the training and deployment of armed support units remains a priority for An Garda Síochána in 2022 in line with best international practices. Recertification and refresher training continues to be provided for armed support units in both the Dublin metropolitan region and nationwide. I am further advised by An Garda Síochána that all armed support unit personnel received the necessary training in 2021 to permit issuance with authority to carry firearms in 2022.

The Garda has advised that preselection and predeployment training for armed support unit applicants as part of an ongoing competition to fill vacancies in the armed support units nationally has been intermittently impacted and delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and other competing training demands. I understand, however, that a number of candidates for the Dublin metropolitan region armed support unit completed their predeployment training requirements in March 2022 and await allocation by Garda human resource management to existing vacancies in the region.

The Government's commitment to tackle organised crime and the related issue of gangland violence is reflected in the Justice Plan 2022, which contains a number of actions under the objective of strengthening measures to tackle terrorism and other serious and organised crime through domestic action and international co-operation. The Minister looks forward to updating the Deputy again on these matters in due course. I hear what the Deputy is saying about the seriousness of knife crime. It is an issue that needs to be tackled. I thank him for raising this very important matter.

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