As part of the conduct of normal business, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department regularly have occasion to ask the Garda about progress in the conduct of investigations which are under way or about the outcome of investigations. The information may be required for any one of a number of reasons but more often than not it is for the purpose of replying to queries or correspondence from the public or to answer parliamentary questions etc.
No specific record is maintained either by the Minister or the Department of the number of requests made and it would be impossible, therefore, to provide the figure sought by the Deputy either in respect of requests made since I became Minister or in respect of similar requests made to my predecessors.