Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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555. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress made in the modernisation of Garda information systems, including the PULSE system, as outlined in the An Garda Síochána modernisation and renewal programme 2016 to 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36096/17]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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557. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the development and implementation by An Garda Síochána of a control room strategy. [36098/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 555 and 557 together.

As the Deputy will appreciate, decisions in relation to the provision and allocation of Garda equipment and resources are a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.

The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Síochána Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021 is intended to professionalise, modernise and renew An Garda Síochána to ensure that the organisation can meet present and future challenges and that the programme prioritises technology projects with the aim improving the services delivered to communities by members of An Garda Síochána.

It is the most ambitious programme of reform ever embarked on by the organisation and due to the scale of the programme, a phased planning approach is essential. In this regard, the Commissioner has advised that some initiatives will be implemented in the short to medium term, while others will require a number of years to implement fully. Given the highly complex nature of the Programme, timelines for projects may move for a number of reasons including, for example, extended scope or procurement phase, unforeseen delays or changes to the strategic priorities of the organisation.

The Investigations Management System, planned for implementation in late 2018, will standardise, digitise and support the management of all investigations arising from a PULSE incident. The system will support the allocation and management of all jobs and allocation of roles and documentation relating to the running and completion of an investigation. It will also maintain a full history of the chain of events for an investigation, information and evidence gathered and decisions made. I am advised that work is progressing in relation to the system and that contacts are ongoing with relevant stakeholders. In the meantime, PULSE has been enhanced with new incident management functionality to enable Garda supervisors monitor the progress of incidents from initial data input right through to court outcome stage. This is an interim step pending the implementation of the Investigations Management System.

I understand An Garda Síochána currently deploys a mix of Regional and Divisional Control Room models across the organisation. The Control Room Strategy, in the long term, will introduce a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Pending the introduction of the new system, the following interim projects have been established to address any gaps in collating data and to provide a more professional and consistent service across the country:

- CAD Part 1will ensure that all calls from the public to An Garda Síochána are accurately tracked and managed and supported by a Regional Control Room Model. The CAD Part 1 project will extend the Cork CAD system to incorporate the Kerry Division, thereby ensuring a standardised approach across the southern region. This project is due for deployment later in 2017.

- ERC1 (Electronic RC1) is an initiative which facilitates the implementation of the overall Control Room Strategy initiative. This is an interim solution that provides Divisions without the current CAD system with the functionality to record, store, retrieve and update information regarding requests for service from the public in an electronic format. ERC1 will assist in standardising the call handling and incident recording procedures prior to the deployment of the complete Control Room Strategy. ERC1 commenced as a pilot in the Mullingar Division in 2016 and a national roll out of ERC1 to all Divisions without CAD (14 Divisions in total with ERC1) was completed during the week ending 1 June last.

As part of the longer-term strategy, Control Room technology will be significantly enhanced. The CAD Part 2 project will identify a suitable CAD system tailored to fit the specific needs of An Garda Síochána with the ultimate objective of providing a better response to victims of crime and delivering a more seamless service to the public. This new CAD system will integrate current and future Garda IT systems i.e. PULSE, Rosters and Duty Management, Contact Management, etc. to provide a holistic view of the organisation's information.

Some other key ICT projects which are currently being advanced are set out below:

- The Enterprise Content Management project is intended to provide a single repository for An Garda Síochána to securely store and manage content. I understand from the Garda authorities that this project will shortly go live in the Eastern Region following the completion of training in these areas. The system will then be systematically rolled out nationwide.

- A new Property and Exhibits Management System will be used to record all property and exhibits which come into Garda possession and manage them throughout their lifecycle within the organisation from scene to court. This system is planned to go live later this year.

- In the area of Victims Services, PULSE has been updated to include Individual Victim Assessment and Victim Engagement screens to record information about the victim themselves and any Garda interaction or engagement with the victim.

- The e-Vetting system provides online processing of applications for Garda vetting for persons working with children and vulnerable persons and is now fully operational. This system won the national eGovernment Award for 2017.

- A project to implement a new Rosters and Duty Management System is currently under way and it is planned to commence a pilot of the system in the first half of 2018. This system will support the management of the new rosters in An Garda Síochána and to manage the deployment of human resources on a day to day and also on a strategic long term basis.

- A new Anti-Money Laundering application (GoAML) which will support Financial Intelligence Units to counter terrorist financing and money laundering was implemented in June 2017.

- A project to enhance Network Access to Rural Locations is a planned initiative under the Modernisation and Renewal Programme. This initiative has identified the locations that do not currently have access to PULSE, Garda e-mail and portal, and where appropriate will provide connectivity. Work on this project is well advanced and over 100 additional stations have now been added to the Garda network.

- A project to provide mobile access, via a smartphone device, to all Garda information systems, including PULSE, is currently being advanced.

In addition An Garda Síochána, in collaboration with my Department, is actively progressing a number of EU ICT projects to improve police co-operation and increase border security within the EU. These include:

- implementation of the FIND solution which is now operational enabling the Garda National Immigration Bureau to query the Interpol Stolen Lost Travel Document Database (STLD)

- implementation of PRUM, which is planned to go live early in 2018, and will deliver enhancements to the Automated Finger Printing System to step up cross-border cooperation in relation to terrorism, crime and illegal immigration, and

- implementation of the Schengen Information System, which is planned to be ready for evaluation by the EU Commission by mid 2019, and which will enable the rapid dissemination of information pertaining to terrorist threats and other subversive and non-subversive crime types across members states of the European Union.

The Government is highly supportive of these initiatives and this is underpinned by significant Government investment under the Capital Plan of some €205 million in additional funding for Garda ICT.