Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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275. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of PSNI police officers seconded to An Garda Síochána in the past five years, to date; the number of Garda officers seconded to the PSNI in the same period; and if he will provide the rank of each officer seconded in either direction. [20284/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Regrettably, the information sought by the Deputy is still awaited from the Garda authorities.  I will contact the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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276. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the plans to provide for PSNI police officers to transfer into An Garda Síochána on a full-time basis at rank and file, sergeant level and inspector level. [20285/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Section 52 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) provides for the direct recruitment, by way of competition, of members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) into An Garda Síochána at certain senior levels, i.e. Superintendent, Chief Superintendent and Assistant Commissioner. 

Under the proposed Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, section 50 deals with the appointment of persons to, and the suspension of persons from, ranks below the rank of Chief Superintendent, capturing the ranks of Garda, Sergeant and Inspector referred to by the Deputy.

This section provides that the Garda Commissioner may appoint, in accordance with regulations, persons to any rank below the rank of Chief Superintendent. The broad nature of this provision is intended to facilitate, through regulations, the implementation of a number of recommendations contained in the CoFPI report. These relate to direct entry routes into An Garda Síochána, at appropriate levels, for suitable candidates with experience from outside of the policing sphere or with relevant policing experience in other jurisdictions. In relation to the Deputy’s question, this would include members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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277. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of instances in which An Garda Síochána has made requests to him and-or his predecessors to join PSNI counterparts on operations in Northern Ireland in the past five years to date. [20286/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Deputy's question to relate to cooperation between the An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in policing matters. As the Deputy will be aware there is very close, ongoing cooperation between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI in a range of policing activities. Every day police to police cooperation is operational in nature. The Garda Commissioner is responsible under the law for the management of An Garda Síochána, including operational matters and the deployment of resources. As Minister, I have no responsibility for these matters.

The strong ongoing cooperation between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI is  further underpinned by a joint Cross Border Policing Strategy which has as its aims to improve public safety throughout Ireland, to disrupt criminal activity and to enhance the policing capability of both police services on the island. It covers the range of policing activities and contains a series of initiatives in which both police services are actively engaged.

The cross-border Joint Agency Task Force (JATF) was established under the 2015 Fresh Start Agreement to bring a concerted and enhanced effort to tackle cross-jurisdictional organised crime. The Task Force is led by senior officers from An Garda Síochána, Revenue, the PSNI and HM Revenue and Customs. The Criminal Assets Bureau and the National Crime Agency are also involved as needed in operational activity. Officers from An Garda Síochána and the PSNI have highlighted the practical value in the continuing excellent level of co-operation and operational activity between the agencies in tackling drug crime, rural crime, financial crime, trafficking in human beings including children, excise fraud and organised immigration crime.  

The JATF reports are produced and published twice yearly. The most recent report was received in December 2022 and covered the period April to September 2022. It highlighted a number of specific joint operational successes in the areas of combatting drug trafficking, people trafficking, rural crime, organised immigration crime, excise fraud and fraud/economic crime.

I am assured by Garda authorities that the long established and close working relationship with the PSNI remains central in enabling the two services to work more effectively together in tackling crime and promoting community safety for all communities on this island.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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278. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will clarify whether there are formal arrangements in place for the exchange of data and-or intelligence between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI. [20287/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Working with our Northern Ireland counterparts on criminal justice issues has always been a priority. I can assure the Deputy that officials in my Department and in An Garda Síochána are committed to continuing to work with their counterparts in Northern Ireland and to maintaining close relationships.

Cross-border policing co-operation is based on a close and productive working relationship between An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Both organisations routinely share information under sections 96-100 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

There is currently a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Data Sharing Agreement in place between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI, which outlines the agreed processes that must be followed when sharing information between both organisations. Such information is shared to assist in complying with statutory obligations of vindicating the human rights of each individual, protecting the security of the State and the prevention and detection of crime.

Additionally, international cooperation agreements with other police services are currently covered by section 28 and 28A of An Garda Síochána Act 2005 as amended. This includes cooperation with the PSNI.

It is intended that this approach will be continued in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill where, as the Bill stands, such cooperation is provided for under section 93. That approach explicitly provides for the possibility of exchanging information between An Garda Síochána and police services from other jurisdictions.