Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on a refusal (details supplied) by the Central Statistics Office to provide information in view of the fact that he referred this Deputy's original parliamentary question to the CSO and that his Department provided these figures prior to the CSO taking over the function; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9343/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. The CSO took over responsibility for the compilation and publications of these statistics in the third quarter of 2006.

I understand from the CSO that key considerations in the production of official statistics are to protect confidentiality and to minimise the risk of disclosing information that might lead to an individual being identified. The production of statistics for very small geographical areas increases the risk of such disclosure. The CSO has given a commitment that Garda data supplied to it would be subject to the highest standards of protection and confidentiality and that they would not be disseminated, shown or communicated to any other person or body in a form that can be related to an identifiable person or undertaking.

The CSO took the view that the Deputy's query related to sensitive information on criminal offences for a very small geographical area, to which the considerations set out above apply.