Mr. Drew Harris:

They would all be able to get into a vehicle. It is then for local management, that is, the inspectors and superintendents, to decide on the distribution of vehicles and ensure vehicles are not lying up or not being used sufficiently. I also recognise we are dealing with more isolated stations and the vehicle has to be there for the Garda member to avail of it. It is not desirable that individual members are coming on duty, but in all the rural divisions where this is happening there is pretty complete supervision of that to ensure they partner off and know from where assistance is available. There is then careful management of the calls they are dealing with. Our rural policing in those more remote areas is in effect a form of community policing and much of it is done with the active support of the local community. We depend on that. We would wish to be in a position, obviously, where that did not happen but, at the same time, it is a viable community policing model we are delivering.

On the Deputy's initial question, I am very aware of the legislation that has been passed in the UK in respect of historical investigations. It has no impact on our work at this moment. We are still investigating the various outrages and terrorist offences committed in this jurisdiction. They are subject to serious case review and from that, there is communication with the family or families of loved ones. If active investigation to identification is a viable option, that carries on as well. These cases remain open and at any one time those investigations are active. I know at first hand from briefings I receive that a number of investigations remain very active in terms of inquiries. That is our responsibility in this jurisdiction. As for assistance from the PSNI, we would expect assistance and we receive assistance and if we were seeking evidence, we would follow the normal channels of mutual assistance and the delivery of evidence from the jurisdiction of anywhere in the UK. We have a reasonable expectation of assistance and mutual legal assistance in respect of these investigations and I do not see why that would change.

On the roads policing issue, the automated number plate recognition, ANPR, system we have in this jurisdiction is a different one from the one that pertains in the UK, which is fed daily by information from the insurance companies based in the UK. It is a somewhat different system here, but we have provided members with mobility devices, which are in effect the phones we provide, and some of those phones have an ANPR-type facility on them, if required operationally. We wish to extend this and that is why, in part, we have sought additional legislation to allow us do more work in respect of ANPR and the identification of vehicles, not just identifying those without insurance but vehicles that are suspected of being used for crime or that we might want to interdict as part of our investigations.