Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2020
503. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice , further to Parliamentary Question No.171 of 17 September 2020, if she has received the report requested by An Garda Síochána on the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41292/20]
View answerI refer to your Parliamentary Question No. 171, which was for answer on the 17 September 2020, where you asked if the new Garda mobility device records and stores information on the number of disqualified drivers detected at roadside checks and if An Garda Síochána is keeping records of the number detected driving while disqualified for operational and statistical reasons. At the outset please allow me to apologise for the delay in responding to you.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the mobile data station is a key tool used by frontline Gardaí in detecting motoring offences, allowing them to access real time information on drivers and vehicles, and most recently to electronically initiate fixed charge penalty notices.
It is part of an overall programme of digitalising policing where Garda tradecraft and experience are being increasingly complemented by device-based access to data. It is important to emphasise that it is the Garda rather than the device that makes the detection. Equally, it should be noted that there is not necessarily a correlation between a look-up on a device and a subsequent detection.
It is important to note that the device does not retain incident data locally for security reasons and it is not possible to definitively answer the question as to the exact number of detections of driving while disqualified made using a mobile data station because PULSE does not differentiate between these instances and detections made by other means.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that statistics are not compiled in such a way as to identify specific numbers of detections or arrests for driving while disqualified (additional powers were provided to An Garda Síochána, allowing the arrest of people who drive while disqualified under section 6(b) and (c) of the Road Traffic Act 2014), as this would necessitate a manual trawl of all relevant incidents recorded on PULSE to collate same, which would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources.
