Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 June 2020
358. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of bench warrants outstanding in the Kildare Garda division as of 22 May 2020; and the number of those warrants outstanding for a period of a minimum of four months. [8778/20]
View answerThe Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the administration and business of An Garda Síochána. In addition, the allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, in light of identified operational demands. As Minister, I have no role in these matters.
As the Deputy will appreciate, difficulties in relation to the execution of warrants, including bench warrants, are a long-standing issue for many police services around the world; notably relating to persons actively seeking to evade detection and where limited identification information might be available to support enforcement. I am assured however that An Garda Síochána execute warrants as expeditiously as possible, giving priority to the execution of warrants relating to serious crimes.
The Deputy may also be interested to note that the roll-out of the Garda Mobility project continues. I understand that there are now over 3,900 mobile devices in use among operational Garda members. I am confident that this ongoing development will bring real efficiencies and benefits to the work of An Garda Síochána.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that, as of 22 May 2020, the number of bench warrants outstanding in the Kildare Garda Division was 1,021. I am further informed that the number of bench warrants outstanding for a period of no less than four months as of 22 May 2020 was 649.
