Catherine Murphy
Ceist:
620. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of external expert consultants on retainer or engaged by the Garda national economic crime bureau; and the number of cases the bureau secured a conviction on in each of the years of 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [6619/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra
The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.
I have requested information from the Garda Commissioner in relation to this matter and will write to the Deputy directly with the information requested, when it is available.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to Parliamentary Question Number 620 for answer on 10 February 2021, in which you requested the number of external expert consultants on retainer or engaged by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau; and the number of cases for which the Bureau secured a conviction in each of the years of 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. You will recall that the information could not be obtained in the time available and I undertook to consult with An Garda Síochána and contact you again when the information was available.
As you will appreciate, the distribution of personnel is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I am assured by the Commissioner that Garda personnel assigned throughout the country, together with overall policing arrangements and operational strategies, are continually monitored and reviewed. Such monitoring ensures that optimum use is made of Garda Resources and the best possible Garda service is provided to the general public.
I am committed to ensuring that Gardaí have the resources, both in terms of people and technology, to combat all forms of crime. An Garda Síochána have been allocated an unprecedented budget of €1.952 billion for 2021. This level of funding is enabling sustained ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff as well as driving significant developments in ICT.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that accurate figures relating to the number of convictions secured by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau are not retained in a manner whereby, such figures provided could be relied upon definitively. Therefore An Garda Síochána are unable to provide the specific information requested.
I am further informed that in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, one (1) external expert was engaged by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.
I hope this information is of assistance.
