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

The Tánaiste's comments relate to the difference between the British and Irish systems subsequent to days of riots in multiple cities across the UK. I am saying clearly that the difference between the United Kingdom and Ireland is that police over there had access to evidence and information which allowed them to obtain early guilty pleas when bringing people before the courts and to achieve earlier prosecutions. What I am doing to rectify the situation here is introducing body cameras. These are now in operation across three areas. They are already being used. The first prosecution took place in recent weeks. These cameras will ensure that gardaí have access to footage. The introduction of facial recognition technology means that, instead of months being spent trawling through CCTV, similar to the UK, we would be able to access that information and identify individuals within hours. Other legislation is being brought forward to ensure that individuals cannot wear masks in scenarios such as those we are discussing, which means that they would be more easily identifiable. All this work will allow gardaí to bring prosecutions more quickly and ensure that the necessary evidence is available.

Separate from that is the fact that my appointment of 24 plus six judges, including judges for the High Court, in the past two years has given rise to a reduction in waiting times in our courts. I intend to appoint 20 more judges. There is a huge amount of work under way to make sure that our system is efficient and effective and that, where gardaí do their job, prosecutions can take place as quickly as possible.

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