Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 February 2022
123. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 511 of 25 January 2022, if she will request the authorities of An Garda Síochána to provide information relating to the total budget allocation and total cost of Operation Foray from 2018 to date (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5265/22]
View answerAs outlined to the Deputy in response to Parliamentary Question No. 511 of 25 January 2022, I have been advised by An Garda Síochána that it is not possible to provide the information sought by the Deputy.
As stated, Garda members may be assigned to several investigations at one time and members do not have a system that allows for them to account for man hours devoted to individual investigations/duties that would allow for the compiling of costs by investigation.
As investigations have no defined time frame, due to the nature of the investigative process, it is not possible to provide budget allocations for investigations. This is distinct to crime prevention initiatives (such as Operation Thor or Operation Citizen) which have defined parameters, including start and end dates, that allow for indicative budgetary information to be provided.
The Garda authorities have advised me that, therefore, it is not possible to provide costs associated with any investigation, and not solely the investigation referred to by the Deputy.
