Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Mark Ward (SF), Dublin Mid-West

Yesterday at the justice committee, we heard that not one garda in the State is trained in pursuit driving. We heard this from the AGSI, the GRA and Garda management. In 2026, I find this absolutely shocking. From speaking to members of the public after yesterday’s meeting, they also find it absolutely shocking. During the meeting, one of the Garda representatives pulled out a policy document from 1988 which stated Garda members were to get pursuit training. Since Ray Houghton put the ball in the England net that year, we have not seen one garda trained in pursuit in this country. The Government said it was going to prioritise pursuit training after the M9 tragedy but we heard yesterday that by the end of this year, only six gardaí in the State will have completed pursuit training. How did we get to a situation where, in 2026, not one garda in the State is trained to pursue a vehicle that is fleeing or refusing to stop for gardaí? It is a simple question and the public want to know the answer to it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16