Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

It will hardly be relevant as far as this Minister is concerned at this stage. I was impressed by the comments of the head of the Garda inspectorate yesterday when she spoke about issues which were close to my heart. She then seemed to suggest that the bureaucratic obstacles to getting anything put in place were substantial hills to climb. Leaving aside the question of whether the Minister is very committed at this stage and taking into account the fact that, since the passage of the last Criminal Justice Act, there is a provision in law for electronic tagging as a post-release condition, how long would it take to get the system operational if one was fully committed? How long would it take from the point of view of tendering and dealing with contractors? Could it be operational within six or nine months? Based on his experience in office, if it was pushed, how long would it take to have such a system operational so that judges can make orders pursuant to the law we are putting through the Oireachtas?

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