Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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629. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 645 of 10 February 2021, the progress to date made by An Garda Síochána in updating the 2014 Roads Policing Manual to provide updated guidelines in respect of forensic collision investigations: the timeframe for the completion of the updates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23850/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible, by law, for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including all operational matters. I, as Minister, have no direct role in these matters.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that Garda Forensic Collision Investigators provide expert analysis of collision scenes to determine the root cause of collisions.

I am further informed that the Garda Síochána Roads Policing Manual, which issued in 2014, provided updated guidelines in respect of Forensic Collision Investigations. An update of the 2014 manual is currently underway. It is not possible to provide definitive timeframes for the completion of the document at present. It is envisaged that the Roads Policing Manual will be introduced in conjunction with the roll-out of the Operational Model across the organisation. I am also advised that the roles and responsibilities of Forensic Collision Investigators will be incorporated into the forthcoming updated Roads Policing Manual.

I am assured that An Garda Síochána continually review the operational effectiveness of units and processes and this is similarly the case with Forensic Collision Investigators, where technology and practices are evolving.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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630. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of fixed charge notices issued by An Garda Síochána in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by Garda district and division to learner drivers for the offence of driving unaccompanied by a qualified driver; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23851/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018, known as the Clancy Amendment, provides for penalties to be imposed on car owners who allow their vehicles to be used by an unaccompanied learner driver. The law provides for fines to be levied in such cases and gives Gardaí the power to seize their cars if being driven by unaccompanied learner drivers.

The Garda authorities have provided me with the below table which has an annual breakdown by Garda division of the number of instances in which a learner driver was issued with a fixed charge notice for the offence of driving unaccompanied by a qualified driver.

I am advised by An Garda Síochána that given the large number of districts, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the relevant fixed charge notices issued to district level.

* Figures for 2021 up to 30/04/2021.

- Figures less than 10.

For the Deputy's information the figures in the above table are based on incidents which occurred from 1 January 2019 to 30 April 2021, inclusive. All information contained in the above table is based upon operational data from the Fixed Charge Processing System as was available on 4 May 2021 and is liable to change.