Mr. Robert K. Olsen:

We did look at the issue of bail, which was an issue brought up in the Guerin report as well. When the Senator mentions PULSE, he must understand that PULSE is a 1990s technology. It was bought for the purpose of it being a repository for information and not an analytical tool. It is not a deployment tool. It is a big repository. When it was put in, it clearly enhanced the Garda Síochána's ability to manage its organisation but it was never intended to do the things the Senator is talking about, namely, tracking people, tracking bail and all that kind of a thing. That is why we have recommended that it is time to retire PULSE. We will be furthering this in our Haddington Road review. It is not possible to retire it right away. It has to be kept running. However, the Garda Síochána needs an entirely different platform in order to adequately track the kinds of things the Senator is speaking about. Currently they have to do it in a somewhat ad hocmanner and create perhaps a PULSE entry level where they can specifically monitor something but it is very cumbersome and very difficult.

I am aware they are trying to do that but the bottom line is that in the long term they will need a new platform for that and their despatch system.