Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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158. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason he has not enabled GSOC to access the PULSE system under the new protocols, despite their outlining on a number of occasions that this was necessary to enable them to carry out their function effectively. [42873/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Last month, revised protocols between the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Síochána under section 108 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 were agreed by the Chairperson of the Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Commissioner. The revised protocols provide the Ombudsman Commission with access to PULSE through the two Garda Superintendents working on secondment with the Ombudsman Commission.

I have no function in determining the content of protocols under section 108 of the 2005 Act, but it is clear that it is the view of both the Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Síochána, as evidenced by this agreement, that these protocols provide a basis for timely and complete co-operation in the conduct of investigations by the Ombudsman Commission.

It is also the case that, in order to facilitate early engagement in relation to any future emerging issues concerning the protocols, I have established a committee chaired by a senior official of my Department, with senior representatives from the Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Síochána, to act as a forum where any such issues can be identified and appropriately addressed.