Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Garda liaison officers with Europol from 2010 to date in 2016 in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38866/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.

An Garda Síochána maintains close liaison with other law enforcement agencies internationally and the work of Garda liaison officers who are permanently based in other jurisdictions and in international bodies such as Interpol and Europol, greatly facilitate the prompt exchange of information and intelligence on criminal activity. Such international liaison has led to many parallel investigations with international law enforcement agencies.

I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner, the number of Garda liaison officers based in Europol Headquarters in the Hague, as of 31 December 2010 to 2015 and up to 31 October 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available are as set out in the following table.