Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have said that my goal from the very beginning has been to give An Garda Síochána the resources it needs to arrive at a point where it has the IT instruments that will ensure the most reliable statistics we can possibly get. As we have seen this week, it is also about what is inputted into that database.

I hope that very serious lessons have been learnt in the discussions, and this week, from what has arisen around the very serious issues of data and the input of data. A combination of a range of factors will determine the true accuracy at the end of the day. I can work on the material that is made available to me but I have also made sure, for example with regard to the issues raised by the Garda Inspectorate on crime statistics, a whole piece of work has been done on those. Because of the extra investment in PULSE it is now not just a question of recording crime but also putting up the information about the investigation. The Garda Inspectorate has said that this will be very important also. The more information that is put up the more reliable will be the feedback that is given to me as the Minister for Justice and Equality, to all the bodies that care about An Garda Síochána, to the Dáil committees and to the Committee on Justice and Equality.

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