News broke yesterday that the next round of training for the Garda armed support unit, ASU, has been halted. I have been informed, however, that gardaí who had been selected for that training were told that it has been cancelled outright. The selected gardaí have been waiting since 2019 to take part in this armed support unit training. Armed support units across Dublin barely have enough resources to be operational and are only at 75% capacity. Ireland has a high rate of gun violence. Our gun murder rate is six times that of Britain. Amid a deadly feud in Finglas, which is spilling out into our own constituency in Dublin Bay South and right across the south inner city, why is the Government being so complacent at resourcing the ASU? The Government must intervene. The cancellation of ASU training courses must be undone. The training must be fast-tracked to bring armed support units up to full operational levels.

That would seem to be a matter for An Garda Síochána which is responsible and independent in its allocation of resources. The Government does provide the broader overall financing, but I will ask the Minister for Justice to see if inquiries can be made on this specific case. We need gardaí who are trained properly. I will ask for the details but I believe it is a matter for An Garda Síochána.