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Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Like Deputy O'Callaghan and the Chair, I extend my sympathies to the Garda. I also congratulate the Garda on the quite considerable recent success in tackling the distribution of child abuse material. It was a considerable success in combatting a heinous crime. That is worth noting. I have a number of questions, some of which arise from Deputy O'Callaghan's questions and the first of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: The Garda Síochána opening statement states "that in July 2016, the Garda National Protective Services Bureau asked the Garda analysis service to conduct a comprehensive analysis of homicides with a domestic motive in the Republic of Ireland over a ten-year period". How did this issue first arise? How did it come to the attention of An Garda Síochána that there was a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I wish to clarify before Dr. Singh comments. Obviously there was something in those records and in the recording of cases which caused this review to begin, so what-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Is it fair to say that the concerns around the recording of data arose primarily due to discrepancies between files from the Office of the State Pathologist and the PULSE records?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank Dr. Singh. My next question concerns the review. I do not refer to the independent peer review that has been announced, but the review of the initial group of cases. My understanding is that the Garda data analysts checked how deaths were classified in the crime records but did not have sight of the full case files. It was therefore not possible to check if homicide investigations...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Is it fair to say that one of the criticisms the Policing Authority made of this approach was that the people who were contacted with any further queries were in fact the same superintendents who were in charge of those initial investigations? As such, there was not really any independent oversight. They confirmed that they were satisfied that these investigations were carried out to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Can Dr. Singh comment on this? Is what I have described an accurate characterisation? Does he agree that there were flaws in the independence of the process or with the people who were asked to clarify any possible queries?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I just want clarification on this peer review. Obviously, a review was under way already. An independent peer review has been announced. Is this a consolidated process or will two processes run parallel?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: This independent peer review will use all the previous work that has been done until now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Obviously, what everyone wants to achieve is the full restoration of confidence in the process, the recording of offences and so on. One of the issues that I think is causing concern is the fact that we do not have even an indicative timeline. Is it possible to give an outside timeline, the latest date by which we could expect this to be completed? We have very little sense of when it will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am afraid it does not. I appreciate the explanation and I am better enlightened but there was a specific question. When one is putting together a group such as this, there must be some sense of how long the process will take. If Mr. Sutton could offer either a minimum or a maximum, I think it would improve our confidence and the public confidence in this process. This cannot be an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Can Dr. Singh give even a minimum timeframe for the analysis part of this process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I have a number of other brief questions. I found the description of the events during Deputy O'Callaghan's questioning quite extraordinary. I find it remarkable that there was to be a discussion at the Policing Authority on 27 April and a report was furnished to the Policing Authority specifically on these matters and that Dr. Singh and his team did not have sight of it. I find this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I want to clarify one or two points before I move on. My final question is for Dr. Singh. This process had its roots in the process described in July 2016. At what stage between July 2016 and 27 April 2017 did it come to light internally that there were discrepancies? Can Dr. Singh put a date on when the discrepancies became apparent in the documents from the State Pathologist and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Okay. Is it the case that five months before the meeting of the Policing Authority concern was expressed by the data analysis unit about these potential homicide cases?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Will Dr. Singh confirm that the report prepared and furnished to the Policing Authority on 27 April was not run by the data analysis unit, despite there having been clear data analysis issues for five months previous to this point with these cases?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I appreciate that. I want to come back to Dr. Singh on the matter. The delegates have articulated all of the issues with the investigations, but it is clearly the case that senior Garda management was aware of the fact that there were data issues and that this document had not been run past Dr. Singh. Was Dr. Singh frustrated by this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Dr. Singh has said that subsequent to the meeting in April he expressed concerns internally. How and when did he express them and is he satisfied that they have all been addressed at this point?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: To be more specific, can Dr. Singh give a general or a specific date on which he expressed that concern? I do not need to go through the concerns expressed, but is he satisfied that the concerns he expressed in that correspondence have been addressed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: To some extent, the failure to provide the report to Dr. Singh before it was presented to the Policing Authority has been presented as an unfortunate error, as an issue of not great consequence and as one of those things that happens but from which we have moved on because the issues have been rectified. I do not know whether it is as simple as that , to be perfectly honest. Deputy...