Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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162. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number and detail of Garda stations in Cork city and county in tabular form; if, in each case, there is on-site access within the station to the PULSE system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1139/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, decisions in relation to the provision of Garda resources are a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.

The Deputy will be aware of the Garda Síochána Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021 which was launched in June 2016 and is intended to professionalise, modernise and renew An Garda Síochána to ensure that the organisation can meet present and future challenges.

One of the initiatives under the Programme is to connect non-networked sites to the Garda network thereby enhancing rural access to the network. I am informed by the Garda authorities that work has commenced to identify locations that do not have access to PULSE or the Garda portal and to provide connectivity where appropriate.

The Deputy will be aware that most crime incidents are recorded via the Garda information services centre, GISC, based in Castlebar. This provides a round-the-clock service which enables gardaí to phone in details of a crime incident, and specially trained staff in GISC facilitate its correct recording and classification on PULSE. As a result, a lack of access to PULSE in a particular Garda station should not prevent the accurate recording of crime data. In fact, I understand that in excess of 90% of crime incidents are recorded via GISC, with the balance being recorded by gardaí directly on PULSE.

The table below sets out the position, as at 16 January 2017, in relation to access to the PULSE system by Garda stations in the Cork City and County areas: