Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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583. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the online portal for uploading evidence of road traffic offences will be in place. [68513/26]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the allocation and deployment of Garda resources under Section 33 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, as well as the management and administration of operational policing matters, including the Traffic Watch online reporting system.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that, as part of An Garda Síochána's ongoing commitment to road safety, an online Traffic Watch reporting form has been available since August 2024. Traffic Watch is a partnership approach which enables road users to work with An Garda Síochána in improving driver behaviour, reducing road collisions and preventing fatalities.

An Garda Síochána has also committed to developing a system that will enable members of the public to report incidents and upload video footage through an online portal, including footage relating to alleged road traffic offences.

Delivering this capability requires the procurement and implementation of a Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) to securely store, manage and process digital evidence. The DEMS procurement forms part of the wider Body-Worn Camera programme currently being progressed by An Garda Síochána. Garda authorities have advised that the DEMS public upload portal will not be introduced until the procurement process and national rollout of body-worn cameras has advanced. This initial phase will manage digital evidence from BWCs and will be expanded at a later date to integrate with an enterprise DEMS to accommodate a wide range of other digital evidence sources and also introduce the public upload portal for online submission of digital evidence by members of the public.