Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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221. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the crime statistics and information being provided by An Garda Síochána to the Central Statistics Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38560/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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It is vitally important for a number of reasons, but particularly for the management of criminal justice policy and Garda operations, that we have regular publication of CSO crime statistics to allow for a targeted response to crime. As the Deputy will be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) formally recommenced the publication of Crime Statistics on 28 March 2018 with a designation of 'Under Reservation'.

While it is clear that there is a body of work to be done to ensure that the CSO can stand over the figures they release as a true and accurate reflection of the level of criminality in our society, I am confident that the work being done by An Garda Síochána, in conjunction with the CSO and the Policing Authority, will soon return the recorded crime statistics to the higher 'Official' standard expected of our crime statistics.

I understand that this matter will also be addressed at the next public meeting of the Policing Authority and An Garda Síochána on Thursday, 27September 2018 and I look forward to hearing the outcome of those discussions.