Mr. John O'Driscoll:

In terms of what is already in place, the victims' units are in place in all the Garda divisions. The protective services units are being introduced and are on a pilot basis. At the centre, I am in charge of all the national bureaus in the crime ordinary section, aside from the security aspect of the State. In recent months, and up to next Friday, we will have received 180 additional staff.

The modernisation and renewal programme resulted in the creation of these new bureaus. The bureau that Mr. Daly is attached to did not exist until 2015. We brought together units that existed elsewhere. For example, human trafficking rested in an emigration bureau because that is where the first cases came to light but, because the focus should be on victims, those kinds of unit were brought into one bureau. Therefore, within Mr. Daly's bureau there are all those victim-centred units. The protective services units are operating in four locations as of today - two pilots in Dublin, one in Cork and one in Louth. Approximately six more will be created next year and we will have them in every division throughout the country shortly after that. However, the victims units are in every division and operating now. Then within the centre there is those listed dedicated units. Those are the units that are receiving the additional staff over recent months.