Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 31 March 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána

9:30 am

Mr. Drew Harris:

I can get the Deputy the specific figures. The unit was created as a national unit in 2019. In the past two years, we have invested in regionalised functions. There are regional cybercrime bureaus that members can liaise with. We have been building up the national unit by assigning more Garda members to it. There is an ongoing process to recruit Garda staff technicians to work in the cybercrime bureau. I can get the Deputy the specific numbers. Prior to 2019, the bureau was not a national one. It now is, and it has grown quite considerably in size. Some 30 additional gardaí have been appointed to it in the past year. We want to add another 34 Garda staff technicians, who will be carrying out technical and investigative functions.