Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The issue here is that the gardaí and the Commissioner have made it clear they need these units now. There has been criticism for many years through the Courts Service and indeed many judges have criticised the huge delays and shortage of resources and staff in regard to this. This is really at the core of this. The main issue at stake here is child sex abuse imagery and how that can be tackled, which is a growing problem not just in Ireland, but across the world. It is something most people hope that we would be up to speed on as a modern economy and society. Online fraud, child exploitation and grooming, sexual abuse and rape must all be dealt with by having proper systems in place.

I understand the Garda Commissioner, Mr. Drew Harris, looked for the funding in 2016, which I believe is when it was first mooted to be required. The funding was applied for and was actually first sought from the Minister's Department in March 2019. A good article appeared in the Irish Examinerregarding this which stated the digital Government oversight unit received a business case from the Department of Justice and Equality in August 2020. What happened in those 15 months? Why could there not have been any movement on this?

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