Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
732. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether capital or reform funding allocated to justice-sector digital modernisation projects includes performance, reporting or data standardisation conditions; and, if so, to provide details of those conditions [14600/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra733. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department has undertaken any governance, reform, or value-for-money review of data interoperability and reporting standards across justice-sector bodies, including the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána and the Central Statistics Office, for the purpose of structured reporting on economically significant offences such as insurance fraud; and if so, to outline the findings [14609/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 732 and 733 together.
The Programme for Government commits to the introduction of a common identification number for individuals in the criminal justice system. My Department is currently considering the legislative and technological updates required to introduce a unique identifier. The development of a single unique identifier will support a more joined-up, efficient and transparent criminal justice system. It will be particularly beneficial in the areas of data accuracy, enhanced data management and integrity, allowing more seamless information sharing and enhanced collection. This will ultimately support research and help to inform both policy and service development.
The Criminal Justice Operational Hub (CJOH) is a programme of work with relevant agencies under the aegis of my Department to deliver improved data interoperability and efficiency. This programme supports a growing series of data exchanges between agencies across the criminal justice system, providing a secure area to exchange information. Data privacy, minimisation and security are key design principles of the programme which is underpinned by detailed Data Sharing Agreements and Data Protection processes to ensure appropriate data privacy is maintained. Further, the project follows my Department's established project governance framework. To date, secure data exchanges have been implemented between the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána, the Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service.
All capital digital modernisation projects follow my Department’s established project governance framework. This framework requires each project to demonstrate a clear business case, strategic alignment with Departmental and Governmental priorities, expected benefits, and business outcomes. All projects are subject to regular performance monitoring and structured reporting through programme level and departmental governance forums.
The P3 Oversight Committee, a management board subgroup, keeps all existing projects and programmes under review to ensure they are delivering the expected outcomes within the agreed budget, time, and scope. In addition to this, my Department also complies with its requirements under the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Circular 14/2021 (for Digital & ICT Projects), including submission to the Digital Governance Oversight Unit for prior approval and the establishment of a dedicated peer review process where total project costs are likely to exceed €2 million.
