Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of what happened in this matter since 1997, when this Government came into office, makes stark reading, particularly the number of Garda stations on which masts were erected. Peanuts were paid to the Government subsequently when an independent assessor was established. The Government had to wait six years before it received arrears of €3.6 million, without interest.

Why did the Minister and his predecessor rely on the mobile telephones and the communications network established by a private company as a substitute for a secure Garda communications system? It is the only secure system in the Garda because of the approximate 1,000 mobile telephones given to the Garda from the rank of inspector up. Why has the Minister not put in place a secure communications system for the Garda?

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