Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To respond to the initial question from Deputy Burke, as a workforce we are highly skilled and our members are extremely sought after because of the training they have and their ability to do this type of work. We are working very closely with Interpol and Europol. For example, one of these programmes is Operation Skein, as we call it here. This tackles criminal organisations and has led to hundreds of arrests in Ireland as well as the establishment by Interpol of an international investigation called Operation Jackal. This is targeted at an organisation and criminal gang that started in west Africa in the mid-1970s and which is now operating worldwide. It is targeting individual member states and individuals, and this has been going on for some time. The work Ireland is doing on this operation, and many others, greatly supports the work others are doing. In that context, people are looking to us as well for the capacity and capabilities we have.

I do not have exact responses for a ComReg programme. The NCSC works out of the Department of the Taoiseach. It works with many different organisations, including An Garda Síochána. I can certainly try, however, to get a specific update for the Deputy in this regard. As I said, we are constantly bringing forward legislation in this context. Only last week, or perhaps two weeks ago, I brought forward legislation to allow the Garda to seek preservation and production orders to allow the force to freeze information online to use as evidence in court cases. When it comes to these types of crimes, that is extremely helpful.

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