On 12 February 2004 I attended the AGM of Nutley Residents' Association with the person referred to by the Deputy. The meeting was also attended by Deputies and other local representatives and election candidates for the area. During the course of the meeting the chairman of the association indicated to those present that the local community garda, who is usually in a position to outline the level of crime and police activity in the area, was unable to attend. The chairman, and not the person referred to by the Deputy, then asked me publicly whether I would be able to obtain the figures for the Nutley area and make arrangements to have any such information conveyed to the residents. I undertook to do so.
The day following the meeting I wrote as promised to the superintendent in Donnybrook Garda station from my constituency office in Ranelagh and told him that I had been asked by the residents' association for crime figures and general information which would have been available to the association if the community garda had been able to attend. The superintendent acknowledged my letter on 19 February and supplied the information in question in early March. I asked my party's local representative, the person referred to by the Deputy and who attended the meeting with me, to ensure that every resident in the area was given the information, and I understand that she arranged for it to be distributed to all relevant households.
The information sought related to the Nutley area only. It was sought by me solely at the request of the chairperson of Nutley Residents' Association. All information received is now in the public domain as requested at a public meeting attended by local representatives and candidates from all political parties. None of those representatives or candidates asked me subsequently to give them the information which was distributed. However, if they had asked me, I would have been glad to give them the same information as I arranged to be given to the householders.
I released the information requested by the association in exactly the same format as I received it. The person referred to by the Deputy has not asked me for any other information regarding Irishtown, Donnybrook or any other area as suggested.
I understand from media reports that the Deputy has since sought much more extensive and detailed information on behalf of a local election candidate in the same area. My request for information was made at the expressed request of the chairman of a meeting at which that local election candidate was present. That candidate heard the undertaking both to seek the information and to distribute it to residents. That candidate made no objection publicly or privately to that request or to my undertaking in response.
