Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I share the Deputy's view that there is substantial public concern on the matter. The situation is that the document in question was misinterpreted by the recipient as a general circular, the implication of which was not understood. The document was treated as a general circular rather than a warning to the Irish system that certain activity was taking place here. That was a serious error and I accept that.

A considerable volume of Garda resources is devoted to the matter of paedophile activity and the like. The paedophile investigation unit has been in existence since November 2002 and operates under the umbrella of the Garda violence and sexual assault unit. Members of the Garda Síochána attached to the National Bureau of Investigation augment those units when the volume of work requires. Computer forensics in connection with these cases are carried out by members attached to the domestic and sexual assaults unit and by members attached to the Garda bureau of fraud investigation using up-to-date forensic software.

I assure the Deputy that significant resources are available to the Garda Síochána to deal with these crimes. Such crimes do not occur at a constant volume and therefore it is necessary to bring in computer experts on occasion to carry out work as it would not be reasonable to have a computer expert sitting waiting for work.

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