Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

Yes. We have 28 divisions throughout the country. In every division we have set up a victim service office which is staffed - this speaks to Deputy Shane Cassells' question about the roles of civilians - by both a garda and a civilian member who are trained. We have had a lot of input from victims' advocacy groups and support services in terms of the training provided, which we very much welcome. We have also set up a national protective services bureau and are in the process of rolling out the implementation of divisional protective services bureaux to support more vulnerable victims. This means that a victim can come into a Garda station, to the victims service office, which provides a link. One of the pieces of feedback we have received from victims during the years is that, because of the roster system under which gardaí are employed, a victim may not always be able to obtain an update on his or her case or may not always be able to get in touch with the local garda. The victim service office has all of the details and, particularly in the light of the victims directive and the right of a victim to be kept updated, will provide them constantly.