Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. I am sorry I was not able to be here for the beginning of the presentation. Their report deals with the inconsistent approach to updating victims of crime, and many of the recommendations in the report relate to technology, restructuring and improved decision-making and supervision. An issue I raised with the Minister for Justice and Equality in the Seanad recently was the question of whether a system like the TrackMyCrime system being used in several British constabularies could be the way to go.

I recall from the report that people's initial engagement with the Garda can be very satisfactory but it is after this that the problems can arise. We all know we are dealing with a period when we have several thousand fewer gardaí than we had. There is a lot of pressure on gardaí and it is not necessarily a lack of goodwill but a lack of personal availability.

Does Mr. Toland believe this approach is promising, namely, this idea that people would have an individual PIN or access to an online source of information about how the investigation of the crime they have reported is being pursued? Are there any pitfalls in terms of the wrong kind of people accessing that information? Could it prejudice fair trails? If he does think such a system could work in Ireland, can it be developed and modelled in such a way that any possible pitfalls are avoided?