Willie O'Dea
Ceist:18 Mr. O'Dea asked the Taoiseach the steps, if any, he proposes to take to expedite the transaction of business in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. [18290/96]
Written Answers. - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has assured me that business in his office is transacted expeditiously. This has been borne out in the Grant Thornton Consulting report and in a preliminary draft of the Department of Finance report on the structure and management of the office.
However, the situation is that very often an immediate decision on whether a particular case can be prosecuted or not cannot be given by the Director's office. The circumstances of a particular case may, and usually do, require detailed consideration by at least one legal assistant, and perhaps then by the Director. Also the Garda file that has been referred to the office for directions may not contain sufficient material for that purpose with the result that a request may have to issue to the Garda as further Garda investigation or information will be required before a decision can properly be taken.
The Director and his staff are conscious of the need to issue directions immediately after a thorough analysis of all the relevant information in the case. There are internal checks carried out each month on the status of files that have been received in the office but have not been the subject of directions.
Recently a study was conducted in the office of a random sample of 354 files which had been received in 1996. It showed that — on average — a direction issued 15 days after receipt of the file in cases where further investigation or information was not required from the Garda investigators. An additional legal assistant was recruited to the office approximately five months ago and another will commence duty before the end of next month.
Arising from the Department of Finance study of December 1995 of information technology needs in the office, development work on the computerisation of case management and information systems within the office is continuing with the assistance of computer experts from that Department. The sum of £60,000 has been set aside this year to finance the extension of computer facilities within the office and their acquisition will commence in a few weeks. This will lead to phased implementation of IT systems commencing in spring 1997.
As I indicated in reply to Questions Nos. 1 and 2 yesterday, the Attorney General is chairing a group representative of his office, including the parliamentary draftsman's office and the Chief State Solicitor's office, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Departments of Finance, Justice and the Taoiseach as well as an independent legal consultant to provide a strategic overview of the law offices of the State. The terms of reference of the group require it to identify the strategic policy issues which require detailed examination and consideration arising from the various reports on the State legal offices. The group held its first meeting on Thursday last, 10 October 1996, and it is expected to make recommendations to Government as soon as possible on action to ensure that the legal services provided to the State are structured and managed so as to provide a quality service.