Michael McNamara
Question:1043. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice how many person’s fingerprints were checked against the Europol Information System to date in 2023. [56977/23]
View answerWednesday, 17 January 2024
Questions (1043)
Written answers
As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended). Interactions between An Garda Síochána and EUROPOL are operational matters for the Commissioner. Furthermore, the Deputy will appreciate that EUROPOL is a separate, transnational organisation that rests outside of my remit as Minister.
I am informed that An Garda Síochána does not input fingerprints on the Europol Information System (EIS).
An Garda Síochána directly contacts Member States and third party countries via the Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) if a search on fingerprints is required. As a result, there are no figures available for fingerprint checks against EIS.