The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, is expected to announce the signing of an £85 million contract with the telecommunications company Nokia for a digital radio network for the Garda.
The system is being designed to be secure from interception by scanners. The Government opted for it after it emerged that armed raiders used scanners to listen in on Garda radio messages during a theft of £500,000 from a security van in Dalkey, Co Dublin in January 1999.
Gardai and consultants are now working on a pilot project for the network. Some £5.5 million was provided in the 2001 Budget allocation. The installation of the entire system is likely to take some years.
The Government has stated its commitment to provide the Garda with the resources necessary for a modern police force. The pilot system will begin in the Dublin area later this year and will last for approximately six months.
The new network is the largest single item of expenditure in the history of the Garda. The PULSE information system, when it was introduced in October 1996, was costed at £36 million. Last year this was revised to £55.6 million.
The Garda is being assisted in the introduction of the system by the US consultants, RCC.