Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the extent to which PULSE can be modified or adapted to increase its speed; if it can be adapted to meet new demands; the details of any reviews of the effectiveness of the system; the approximate cost of acquiring and installing a PULSE terminal in a Garda station; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5309/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that a performance review of the PULSE system is being undertaken with a view to improving its speed in certain respects. I am also informed that the PULSE system can be modified and adapted to meet new demands of the operational service. The review will be to hand, I understand, by the summer. In addition, a review of the effectiveness of PULSE is a matter that arises for consideration as part of the Garda Síochána information and communications technology strategy, 2005-2009. Work on that strategy is under way and will be completed over the coming months.

PULSE is available at 181 locations, including divisional and district headquarters and all major city stations. Under that level of coverage, 85% of all incidents are directly captured and more than 75% of Garda personnel have direct access to PULSE systems in their stations. A further 19 stations are shortly to be added to the PULSE network in 2005. The cost of an additional PULSE terminal is dependent on whether the location is networked. The cost of an additional personal computer in a networked location is approximately €1,200. The cost of providing a PULSE computer at a non-networked location will vary considerably depending on the infrastructure cost involved.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister accept we should provide cutting edge technology to the Garda Síochána and that PULSE does not qualify? This technology must be out of date because it goes back to the early 1990s. It is unsatisfactory, nonetheless, that it is installed in only 25% of Garda stations. Does the Minister not accept that a situation whereby some gardaí must travel ten or 15 miles to a Garda station to input their material into PULSE is a waste of Garda time? Furthermore, does he not accept that we got bad value in that €60 million has been spent on the system, €50 million on consultancy and a further €50 million on non-consultancy services and we end up with technology that only reaches 25% of Garda stations? Does he agree that it is slow and in many cases ineffective and does not qualify? PULSE is an acronym for police using laser systems effectively. Surely it does not qualify on any front, should be replaced and the Garda given modern state-of-the-art technology.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am not of the view that it should be replaced, but I believe it should be developed. I fully accept the Deputy's point that the Garda should have leading edge technology available and that the system should be improved and speeded up. One of the questions that has arisen is whether it would make more sense for gardaí to operate the PULSE system through call centres and have the entries made by a specialist staff so that they do not have to leave their normal duties. This is something the commissioner is pondering.

The figures quoted by the Deputy for terminals do not match up to reality because 85% of all incidents are reported in a station where there is a terminal and 75% of all gardaí have direct access to a PULSE system in their stations. The Deputy is including in his figures stations which are open for two hours on a number of days a week and asking whether they should be counted in as stations which have no access to the PULSE system.

Ideally, every Garda station should have access to the PULSE system. I hope, with broadband technology and the like, that it will be possible to move quickly to that situation. That is where we should be going. However, the Deputy is asking that PULSE should be scrapped and we should start again only a short number of years after it has come into operation. That is the type of decision which, were I to take it, would be wholly irresponsible. Simply to throw away something which cost a great deal of money to develop and start again would be folly.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister not accept that as a matter of priority he must provide the resources to upgrade the system? He must provide the resources to extend it nationwide to the 75% of stations that do not have it. He must provide resources to have a better way of inputting the statistics, such as palmtops for the Garda Síochána, rather than having gardaí making round trips of 20 to 30 miles to reach a station to input the material. Does he not accept there is a strong case for providing civilians to do a job that gardaí should not be doing? All this extra work that should not be associated with cutting edge state-of-the-art technology is part of the reason, even with the existing numbers in the Garda Síochána and not the expanded numbers the Minister dreams about at times, gardaí are not allowed to spend their time on frontline duty.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy must have misheard me. I said they should have cutting edge technology and that we should explore all these matters. We are reviewing the system a short number of years after it came into operation. I contrast the fact that there is a computerised system now with the situation that obtained during the time the Deputy's party was in office when there was none of this.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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It began in 1996.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy said the idea of more gardaí was a dream of mine. They are a reality. They are coming now and are a nightmare for the Deputy.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Is the Minister joining the Minister of State, Deputy Callely, in fantasy world?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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They are a nightmare for the Deputy because the rattle has been thrown out of his pram and he can no longer bang on about this anymore.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister should produce the body.