I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 to 69, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will appreciate, I, as Minister, have no function in relation to contractual arrangements entered into by An Garda Síochána with third parties. I am informed by the Garda authorities that towing management contracts are advertised to the market by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) to provide an outsourced solution to assist An Garda Síochána in recovering, storing and the associated administrative work in managing seized vehicles.
I am further informed that there are six towing contracts in place in the Dublin Metropolitan Region. These contracts were awarded following the appropriate tender processes, including advertising in the EU Official Journals (OJEU). The most recent DMR tender was for Dublin West and it was put in place by the OGP following an OJEU tender process in 2015. The previous contract, which was held by Gannon City Recovery, was extended to 6 March 2016 to facilitate the OGP tender process. The new contract commenced on 7 March 2016 and expires on 6 March 2017. It can be extended on a yearly basis up to a maximum of four years. The contractor is Gannon City Recovery.
No maximum prices are set by the OGP/An Garda Síochána in relation to daily storage of vehicles that have been seized. This is a matter for the contractor concerned. The onus is on owners to reclaim their vehicles once they are cleared by An Garda Síochána, thus minimising any additional charges that they might incur.
With regard to the Deputy's query in relation to private information held by An Garda Síochána, the Deputy will be aware that An Garda Síochána is subject to the provisions of Data Protection legislation and has a comprehensive code of practice in place in this regard.