Parliamentary Question addressed to the Minister for Justice

To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of concerns surrounding the recent discovery of a body in the Dublin mountains, if he will reassure the public that in missing persons cases where the person concerned has suffered from depression or mental illness, that no less rigour or resources are devoted to the search by the Gardaí and that this would include checks of on-line and phone activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter?

Reply:

I am, of course, conscious of the distress and continuing impact on family and friends when a person goes missing but the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment on a case that is under active investigation by An Garda Síochána and that the operational management of any investigation is a matter for the Garda authorities.

I am, however, assured by the Garda authorities that all incidents where persons have been reported missing remain under investigation until such time as the person is located and that An Garda Síochána reviews missing persons cases on a regular basis. The District Officer (Superintendent) in the area where a person has gone missing takes direct responsibility for all investigations and searches carried out. Local investigation teams are appointed by the District Officer, and all means necessary, including the services of specialist units, are deployed to assist in these investigations, as considered appropriate. 

Furthermore, the Garda Missing Persons Bureau, which is responsible for all data relating to missing persons, provides expert assistance and advice to District Officers in all high risk missing person cases. The Garda authorities are satisfied that adequate resources, including staff and technology, are in place to deal with this issue and investigations are carried out in line with international best practice.

There is certainly no question of less resources being applied to cases of the kind referred to by the Deputy and all lines of inquiry considered appropriate, including accessing records, are pursued.