Bernard Durkan
Ceist:
322. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons still recorded as missing persons for several years; the extent to which efforts continue to be made to locate them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37108/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra
I have requested information from An Garda Síochána to answer the Deputy's question, but this was not available in time. I will contact the Deputy again when the information is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 322 of 8 July 2021 where you sought: “The number of persons still recorded as missing persons for several years; the extent to which efforts continue to be made to locate them”.
As you will recall, I sought the information you requested from the Garda authorities and undertook to contact you again once the information was to hand. Due to an oversight in my Department, your question went unanswered and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you for the delay in responding to your query.
At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the pain and trauma experienced by all families of missing persons. I am deeply conscious of how difficult life is for loved ones who simply don't know what has happened to their relative. My Department is committed to working with all relevant State bodies to help more families find their missing relatives.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that a Missing Person Investigation is the application and management of systemic procedures and appropriate investigative resources to locate a missing person, including the use of the media, which commences when a person is reported missing to the Garda Síochána.
The investigation is constantly reviewed at Superintendent rank in the relevant Garda District, at specific junctures within the investigation, to ensure that the risk assigned to the investigation is ratified and that all investigative actions appropriate to the investigation are being pursued, and that the appropriate resources have been assigned to the investigation.
In addition to the efforts made by the local investigation team, the Missing Persons Unit at the Garda National Protective Services Bureau audit the aforementioned Missing Person investigations to ensure that where possible, the investigation team has gathered either a surrogate DNA sample or has obtained a familial DNA sample in the investigation, however, it is accepted that this will not be possible in all investigations.
It should be noted that all Missing Person investigations remain open until the missing person is located.
You may wish to be aware that the national DNA database, which is administered by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), has been a significant breakthrough in identifying missing and unknown persons in recent years.
To encourage more family members to participate in DNA testing, my Department is developing a targeted outreach, in partnership with An Garda Síochána and FSI.
In July 2021, a forum was established with An Garda Síochána’s Missing Persons Unit, and with FSI, in order to maintain regular communication and information exchange on these very important matters.
To support the work of these organisations, it is crucial that they are aware of all unidentified remains (partial and full) within the State, which fall under coronial jurisdiction.
To that end, in July 2021, Minister Humphreys wrote to all coroners, seeking details of all human remains within their district. Coroners are required to provide annual returns to my Department and a question on unidentified remains has been added to this annual return going forward to capture this data.
All coronial districts have submitted to my Department information relating to detail of human remains (full and partial) lying within each district. As mentioned above, this data will be provided annually going forward.
My Department is currently engaging with An Garda Síochána in respect of this data.
In addition, the National Missing Persons Day is a Department of Justice initiative which has been developed into an annual campaign in partnership with a number of organisations.
This annual event provides an important opportunity to remember those who have gone missing and also to appeal to the public for any information that might be of assistance to An Garda Síochána.
The campaign also highlights the significant contribution made by DNA testing to the conclusion of a considerable number of missing persons’ cases over recent years and to encourage more family members to participate in DNA testing.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that as of 11 February 2022, there are 813 people associated with missing person’s incidents that are still recorded as missing.
The table in the attached Appendix, which has been provided to me by An Garda Síochána, shows the number of people that were reported missing in the specified year.
I hope that this information is of assistance.
Appendix
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|
|
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Year Reported
|
Missing Persons
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2012
|
3690
|
|
2013
|
3343
|
|
2014
|
3571
|
|
2015
|
3670
|
|
2016
|
3553
|
|
2017
|
3719
|
|
2018
|
3909
|
|
2019
|
4096
|
|
2020
|
3343
|
|
2021
|
3515
|
The above figures were collated based on PULSE data as of 1:30am on the 11 February 2022, and as such they are operational and may be liable to change.
