Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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221. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the capital expenditure by his Department in County Louth and east County Meath by location and facility provided or commenced in each of the past four years; the location and purpose of each such expenditure; the new and improved services provided as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53847/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the information that he has requested is not generally held on a per-locality basis and it is not possible to provide a comprehensive answer across the activities of my Department for the time period specified.

However, I wish to note that €10.1m was made available in 2017 in respect of the construction of a state of the art courthouse in Drogheda comprising of two courtrooms, which facilitate Circuit and District Court business. This was one of a number of courthouse projects delivered as part of the Courts Public Private Partnership Bundle project.

I can further inform the Deputy that Drogheda Garda station is among the stations undergoing major works under the Building and Refurbishment Programme, which is progressed by the Garda authorities working in close cooperation with the Office of Public Works (OPW), which is responsible for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. Additional maintenance spending is undertaken by the OPW and An Garda Síochána on the upkeep of the stations across County Louth and east County Meath under this programme.

The resources provided by Government to An Garda Síochána have reached record levels, with an allocation for 2019 of €1.76 billion and this is due to increase further to an unprecedented €1.88 billion for 2020. The capital budget for An Garda Síochána has also been significantly increased - a total of €92 million was provided this year, representing a 50% increase on capital investment in 2018. And capital investment will increase further to €116.5 million in 2020. Capital funding between 2016 and 2021 includes investment of €342 million in Garda ICT infrastructure between 2016 and 2021; and investment of €46 million in the Garda Fleet over the same period.