Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join the Senator in recognising the work carried out by Pat McGee and his contribution to enforcement of law and order in the Louth area very successfully for a number of years.

As the Senator recognised, the Government is committed to the ongoing renewal of An Garda Síochána and this is reflected in the strong programme of investment in front-line resources. Since 2012, the Government has invested almost €29 million in renewing the Garda fleet to support front-line Garda responses. In this regard, the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, recently announced the allocation of a further €5.3 million for the purchase of a further 260 vehicles between now and the end of the year. This new investment will provide additional high-powered vehicles, marked and unmarked patrol cars, cars for surveillance and covert operations, motorcycles for high visibility road policing and vehicles for public order policing. The Government's capital plan 2016-2021 provides an additional €46 million for new Garda vehicles. It also provides major additional investment of €205 million over the lifetime of the plan for Garda ICT systems and technology. This will bring the overall Garda ICT funding to €330 million over the lifetime of the capital plan. The increased budget allocation that the Minister secured for 2016 will also facilitate additional funding for Garda surveillance, special operations and targeted intelligence-led policing.

The Government and relevant law enforcement agencies will maintain and intensify their focus on combating organised crime, whatever its aims and origins. In respect of Border-focused crime, we will continue to work in close co-operation with our counterparts in Northern Ireland and develop measures to enhance and support this joint approach to crack down on those who exploit Border communities for their criminal ends.