Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I thank the assistant commissioner for giving up his time this afternoon and for all the work he and his colleagues do. I take this opportunity to congratulate them on the huge cocaine seizure announced today as well. It is positive news from a law enforcement perspective but also reinforces the huge problem that is there, the huge market that is here as well and the amount of people who continue to use such substances despite knowing everything that goes with that.

I welcome the remarks about the welfare of the assistant commissioner's team which is tasked with the most difficult job of having to go through some of this really atrocious online content, which is a priority. These team members really are some of the unsung heroes of law enforcement. They work behind the scenes but they deserve all the support they can possibly get because exposure to that level of depravity on such a regular basis can, I am sure, have a really profound impact on a person.

Touching on a point raised by Senator Carrigy, have the tech companies been co-operative with the Garda in relation to prosecutions and its investigations? I ask because I want to delve further into that and see whether there are impediments there from the tech companies that require remedying to ensure easier prosecution.

The other area I want to ask about as well is the issue of minors who are perpetrating online crime and abuse and how we deal with that. It is an area of difficulty for law enforcement in general, be that with street crime or anti-social behaviour. As such, the assistant commissioner might speak to the approach to online crime as well.