There has been an unprecedented level of investment in An Garda Síochána in recent years, in support of the Government’s commitment to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country. In total, €342 million is being invested in Garda ICT infrastructure between 2016 and 2021 to enable An Garda Síochána to deploy the latest cutting edge technologies and a total of €46 million is being invested in the Garda fleet over the same period.
As the Deputy will appreciate, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for managing and controlling the administration and business of An Garda Síochána. Further, the allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, in light of identified operational demands.
The Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North Division comprises of four Districts, namely Ballymun, Coolock, Raheny, and Balbriggan. I am informed by the Garda authorities that 32 Garda members attached to the DMR North Division completed mountain bike training in 2018. I am further informed that 10 Garda members from the DMR North Division successfully completed a mountain bike training course in May 2019.
The Garda authorities have advised me that there are currently no plans to provide additional mountain bike training to the DMR North Division for the remainder of 2019.