Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

Investigating and detecting crime costs money. In this situation, the competent authority, namely the Garda Commissioner, provides the initiative to set up the joint investigation team. We cannot introduce something into domestic law which compels competent authorities in other countries to calculate costs in advance. The Garda Commissioner will calculate costs and ensure taxpayers' money is not spent foolishly in setting up joint investigations and allowing them to continue indefinitely. We are talking about serious crime. Joint investigations will not be a daily feature of policing. Rather, they will be set up to deal specifically with serious problems which have a trans-national element. The crime will of necessity be serious if the Garda get involved and invite foreign police forces to help them.

These cases will involve crimes such as drug trafficking or the trafficking of human beings, which have a serious impact on quality of life. These types of situations are unusual but are, nonetheless, a feature of the modern criminal scene. It would not be possible successfully to investigate such crimes unless police forces from outside were involved. Therefore, the costs will be well worthwhile and some of those costs will be borne by the other states. That is the mechanism we are seeking to establish here.

The proposed amendment in the name of Senator Terry provides that the establishment of each joint investigation team should be costed prior to establishment. One of the guiding principles for the Garda Síochána, as indicated in the Garda corporate strategy 2000-2004, is to ensure that the Garda carries out its functions in a way which obtains the best value from Garda activities. The Garda policing plan for 2003 lists 12 strategic goals, one of which is managing finance to achieve best value for money. The performance indicators in the plan for this strategic goal include compliance with budget allocation and costing of major functional policing areas, including drugs, traffic and crime enforcement.

This goal is intended to ensure that resources are properly managed and effectively used. With regard to certain drugs operations, which can often involve the deployment of personnel and resources from different Garda divisions, as a matter of good management practice it is not unusual, as the Senator indicated on Second Stage, that they be costed in advance to determine where costs fall and to ensure that such resources are being used effectively. I am informed by the Garda authorities that sanctioning operations which could involve major seizure or arrest are not subject or dependent on such costing. However, it is considered to be good management practice for the reasons illustrated.