Regardless of whatever title the Deputy, the media or I wish to put on it, every murder is investigated as a murder and not as a murder of a specific person or kind. Until such investigation is completed it is not for me or the Deputy to say whether something is a contract murder, a domestic violence murder, a crime of passion or a murder of any other description. These incidents were all murders and are being investigated by the Garda Síochána.
Given the advice of the Garda Commissioner, I do not believe we need yet another unit. There is a central detective unit, an investigation unit, a bureau of fraud investigation, a national drugs unit and a criminal assets bureau. The resources of these units, depending on the way in which an investigation is proceeding, are available to the Garda Commissioner to deploy whatever way he considers appropriate.
To announce the establishment of yet another unit is not a sufficient response. The Garda Commissioner, the most senior member of the Garda Síochána, is satisfied that the resources and units he has available now are adequate to investigate crimes. He has also assured me that he keeps the effectiveness of all these units under continuous review.