Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On amendment No. 8, the Minister agrees fully that GSOC should have access to PULSE for the purposes of its investigations. However, I can assure Senators that at this stage, it is an aspect of co-operation that is being fully catered for operationally. While the Minister is aware that this is an area that has given rise to difficulties for GSOC in the past, the commission has confirmed to the Department of Justice and Equality that it is satisfied with the level of access to PULSE that is now being provided. As part of the processes involved, Garda training has been provided for GSOC personal. For the Minister's part, she believes it is appropriate that GSOC's access to the PULSE system should be provided within the general framework of the co-operation that takes place between An Garda Síochána and GSOC. This is specifically provided for in the 2005 Act and the Minister does not consider that there would be any particular advantage in making separate provision for one particular area where information is to be exchanged.

In addition, legislating for access to a named information system as proposed has the potential to give rise to practical difficulties, such as when that system is changed, integrated with other systems or decommissioned. In that regard, Members may be aware that the Garda Inspectorate has made significant recommendations with regard to the PULSE system. It is also important to stress that section 9 of the Bill contains a provision that will underpin any requirement on the Garda Commissioner to provide information to GSOC. That section inserts a new section 103A into the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and places a statutory obligation on the Commissioner to provide GSOC, as soon as practicable, with information that GSOC requires for the purposes of carrying out its functions. This observation applies fully to the PULSE system and has the advantage that it is equally applicable to any alterations that might be made to that system. In the circumstances, the Minister does not consider that a new legislative provision along the lines proposed is necessary and asks the Senator to withdraw the amendment.