Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the investigation that has been held into the circumstances in which the Garda Síochána failed to act on information supplied through Interpol from the Austrian authorities regarding the alleged involvement of people based here in a global child pornography ring; the outcome of such an investigation; if the information supplied has been followed up; if he expects this will lead to prosecutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6943/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that on 22 August 2006 the Interpol office at Garda headquarters received information from the Austrian authorities that they were processing reports of child pornography on the Internet and that Ireland was one of 72 countries included in the notification by the Austrian authorities.

No action was taken at the time by the Garda authorities on foot of the notification and they have expressed regret for this. I share that regret. I understand the Garda authorities have been in contact with the Austrian authorities on the matter and have taken further action, but it would be inappropriate for me to disclose the nature of this further investigation and it would be counter productive to do so.

A Garda chief superintendent has been appointed to carry out a fact finding investigation into the full circumstances of the failure to react to the Interpol communication and the subsequent Garda statement to the effect that such a document had not been received. That investigation will look at measures to ensure the very high volume of information received from international sources is handled more effectively. I do not propose to make any further comment before completion of the ongoing Garda investigation, which will be completed as quickly as possible.

I have been assured by the Garda Síochána of its determination to avoid a recurrence of this incident and to pursue relentlessly evidence of involvement in child pornography. For my part, I will continue to pursue measures, particularly in terms of international co-operation, to combat this evil trade.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Does the Minister accept that people are scandalised that such an issue and a crime of such magnitude could be notified to the Irish authorities and be ignored for months on end? Is he not scandalised by that? How many individuals work in the Garda international liaison unit? Is there a system in place to highlight the most serious offences, particularly those committed in our jurisdiction, from routine notifications coming in great volume to the office? What links exist between the Garda international liaison unit and the sexual assault and child protection unit? Is there automatic notification to that unit of international paedophile activity in this jurisdiction?

Is the Minister satisfied that as of now, not pending the report of some chief superintendent however long that may take, notification of this sort coming into the country from either Interpol or any foreign police force will be immediately notified to the appropriate division of the Garda and immediately acted upon?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I share the Deputy's view that there is substantial public concern on the matter. The situation is that the document in question was misinterpreted by the recipient as a general circular, the implication of which was not understood. The document was treated as a general circular rather than a warning to the Irish system that certain activity was taking place here. That was a serious error and I accept that.

A considerable volume of Garda resources is devoted to the matter of paedophile activity and the like. The paedophile investigation unit has been in existence since November 2002 and operates under the umbrella of the Garda violence and sexual assault unit. Members of the Garda Síochána attached to the National Bureau of Investigation augment those units when the volume of work requires. Computer forensics in connection with these cases are carried out by members attached to the domestic and sexual assaults unit and by members attached to the Garda bureau of fraud investigation using up-to-date forensic software.

I assure the Deputy that significant resources are available to the Garda Síochána to deal with these crimes. Such crimes do not occur at a constant volume and therefore it is necessary to bring in computer experts on occasion to carry out work as it would not be reasonable to have a computer expert sitting waiting for work.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I have every confidence in the way the sexual assault unit deals with these issues. However, the unit cannot deal with an issue if it has not received the information. I want assurance from the Minister that any warning that may arrive from now on, from Interpol or any other police authority anywhere in the world, that identifies serious criminal activity such as potential paedophilia, will be immediately notified to the appropriate unit, in this case the sexual assault unit. What steps has the Minister taken since this serious error happened to ensure it could not happen again?

I know there is a review going on and, no doubt, we will hear the details of that when the chief superintendent finishes his inquiry. However, can we be assured as of now that if such an alert arrived, it would not be mishandled, mistreated or misread today? What steps has the Minister taken to ensure this is a reality?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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After this came into the public domain, I spoke to the Commissioner and deputy commissioner about operations. They assured me they had taken steps immediately to ensure that in future circular material of this kind would be more carefully examined, that any reference to Ireland would be immediately acted upon, that inquiries would be made with regard to the sending case to ensure gardaí were in possession of the maximum amount of information available and that incoming information would be shared among the garda units appropriate to deal with it.

I am quite satisfied the Commissioner is fully committed to ensuring this error is not repeated. For that reason, in addition to implementing a more rigorous examination of this kind of material and an immediate action plan on foot of this kind of intelligence, he has sought a more full and reflective inquiry as to what went wrong on the occasion.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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When does the Minister envisage the report will be available?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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He has not indicated, but I presume it cannot take long as it is not a complex matter.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That is what I thought.