Mr. Richard McMahon:

It is in the Garda information and security centre in Castlebar. I will elaborate on some of the problems with the PULSE system. There are probably four main types of problems. The first relates to the difference between the number of crimes that are reported and, subsequently, the percentage of those crimes that are actually recorded on PULSE.

Another problem was with the completeness of the recording of the details of crime, for example, the relationship between the victim and the offender, which is important information in terms of crimes like domestic abuse, and the motive of the crime, which is important information in terms of hate and discrimination crimes. The timeliness of the recording of crimes was also a problem.

Our quality reviews have undertaken in-depth studies of these quality characteristics. It is important to note that we have seen some improvement between the first and third quality reports and that the PULSE system is being adapted by the Garda to address some of the issues raised in the quality reports. However, significant gaps still exist. Until those gaps and problems are-----