Mr. Martin Callinan:

There are very clear guidelines which set out that a burglary is a burglary and a robbery is a robbery. The dimensions are there. I do not like raking over coals but when I sought clarification from the president of the Garda Representative Association, he did not make any claim of any wrongdoing. He was expressing a view. I spoke to our head analyst, who interfaces with the Central Statistics Office to provide the figures. While he indicated that the CSO has not seen any issue in terms of the information we are providing, they are, nevertheless, meeting to discuss the issue. Days after this matter was brought to a head at the conference, I spoke to my senior management team and asked if they had any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, that this was happening. "Absolutely not," was the unequivocal reply. I do not know where the notion is coming from. Perhaps it is the case that quality assurance must be addressed in the context of the material that is put on the PULSE system.

The recategorisation of crimes occurs from time to time but the onus is on every district officer to look at offences and ensure they are being properly managed. We have a regime in all Garda districts on crime and crime management and that is where the discussion should take place. I am very clear and my senior officers are under no illusion that crimes should be reported and reported properly.