Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

A sensible counsel against quarterly publication of crime figures was that a news story would be reported on a quarterly basis rather than an out of date story 18 months after publication and the media would be given four bites at the cherry every year. That was good advice but, on the other hand, not producing the figures quarterly would break the chain of accountability and distract the Garda. Who would be motivated by figures that may appear in 18 or 24 months? The world does not work that way.

Quarterly publication is positive. I will think about accepting the proposal before Report Stage. I do not want to make a provision that will create a difficulty and more bureaucracy. I will have to contact the CSO regarding whether this should be a statutory requirement. It would be difficult for a bad minded successor of mine to reverse that policy.