Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not respond to yet another allegation made by the group across the way from me. The Members in question talk about respecting civil and human rights but in this House they have respect for no one's civil or human rights or reputation. Deputy Daly has named someone in the House and has suggested he is doctoring evidence. I ask the Deputy to withdraw that and to have the decency to do so. This House should not become a House in which people abuse privilege to make allegations they cannot substantiate.

On the issue of penalty points, I await the report that I know I am expected to receive during the course of this month. We will debate it after its publication. If there is anything arising from it that requires to be addressed by me, as Minister, it will be so addressed. If there is anything that requires to be addressed by the Garda Commissioner, it will be so addressed.

In the context of the issue the Deputy mentioned, I do not make operational decisions on where members of the force should be based, what work they should do or what supervision they should be under. However, I am conscious that various people who are not Members of this House have been named in public or in this House - the Deputy will know this because she has been engaged in it - by the Deputy's colleagues as if the individuals had done some wrong. I cannot recall whether the Deputy did it herself. The Deputy seems to believe it is appropriate that any information that might be available on the PULSE computer system should be simply published without consequences. There are consequences for the Garda's capacity to conduct an investigation. Issues arise under the Data Protection Act. I will say no more about those issues.

With regard to the query raised by Deputy Niall Collins, it would be highly inappropriate of me to make decisions on which units should operate in particular locations. These are operational decisions made by the Garda Commissioner.

The area of drugs, as the Deputy well knows, remains a high priority in the police plan of 2013. The Garda Síochána has been particularly successful in the past 12 to 18 months in respect of the very substantial drug hauls that have been achieved. I am informed that drugs valued in the region of €100 million were seized in the year ending December 2012.

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