Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2018
110. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the expenditure on the design, development and launch of the new An Garda Síochána's website garda.ie; if the project was managed internally or externally; and if managed externally, the external contractor or contractors involved in the project. [8838/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the detailed allocation of Garda resources, including the procurement of ICT products and services is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no role in the matter.
I am, however, informed by the Garda authorities that the development of the new Garda website was managed by the Garda Office of Corporate Communications supported by Garda ICT. I understand that An Garda Síochána’s previous website was introduced in 2008 and, as well as being out-dated, it was difficult for the public to access the information they needed easily. An updated website with better information for the public on areas such as crime prevention was a recommendation of the Garda Inspectorate 2014 report.
I understand from the Garda authorities that the contractor for the design and development of the site was PTools which was appointed following a public tender process. Total payments to PTools Software as at 20 February 2018 amounted to €53,075.
There were some costs incurred in relation to Irish translation and content development costs – to date they amount to €19,647.01 (incl VAT). Translation of the entire website into Irish is ongoing.
The Garda authorities inform me that An Garda Síochána’s new website has a strong focus on providing information in an easily accessible way based on the needs of the public. Further, based on the Garda Public Attitude Survey, the website also contains FAQs, supplied by policing experts working in these areas, on crimes that the public are most concerned about such as domestic abuse, sexual crime, human trafficking, assaults and burglary.
