Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for speaking with such passion on this issue. The stark figure he raised of more than 800 active missing persons cases in the country reminds us why this issue is so critical. I spoke to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, about this earlier this afternoon. She said she would like to be here but cannot because of the Brexit meeting. I will, however, engage with her further and I know she is giving this issue her attention.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the investigation and prevention of crimes are operational matters for the Garda Commissioner and An Garda Síochána. The Minister for Justice does not have a direct role in that operational element. I assure the Deputy, however, that she is in ongoing contact with the Commissioner and his management team with regard to the policy and policing response to crime incidents generally.

The Garda missing persons unit, local Garda stations and the network of family liaison officers around the country all perform crucial roles in investigating missing persons incidents and supporting families and friends of missing persons. The missing persons unit is the linchpin in the investigation process, carrying out investigations, assisting local gardaí on complex cases, liaising with governmental and non-governmental agencies involved in this area of work, co-ordinating DNA retrieval from family members of persons on the missing persons database and assisting in the identification of unidentified human remains.

Forensic science and the retrieval of DNA from close family members has made substantial contributions to missing persons cases over the past number of years, and indeed, Ireland's DNA database contains valuable close family samples alongside profiles of persons whose identify is not yet known. The database can match missing people, sometimes via their close relatives, to unidentified bodies, helping to bring some element of closure for families searching for their loved ones. The database can also serve to eliminate a missing person if an unidentified body is found matching their description, again assisting the gardaí with their investigations. The population of this database, in conjunction with the work of Forensic Science Ireland and An Garda Síochána, has enabled increasing numbers of missing persons to be identified in recent years. These successes provide hope for those families who are still seeking answers about the disappearance of their loved ones.

I can confirm that some preliminary work was carried out by An Garda Síochána in 2019 to record unidentified remains that may be located with individual coroners across the country. Department of Justice officials are examining ways to update and take forward that work while fully respecting the independent role of the coroners as set out in the Coroners Act 1962. That identifies that particular real difficulty that relatives face with having to engage with individual coroners rather than just one agency. The Minister and the Department have identified this and are initiating work in that area.

Ambiguous loss of a loved one is a devastating experience for affected families and friends. As a Minister and member of the Government, I offer my deepest sympathies to family and friends who have been affected profoundly and sadly by these losses.

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