The Director General of the Central Statistics Office has told the Public Accounts Committee that there are still issues with the recording of crime statistics in the Garda Síochána.
Pádraig Dalton told the committee today that while there had been improvements in how data is recorded on Pulse, the CSO publishes the statistics "under reservation".
In 2017, the CSO suspended the publication of any further crime figures for a second time until a garda review into homicide cases was completed. The review began after it was suspected that a number of cases of murder, manslaughter and violent deaths may have been mis-classified.
"There are still issues with the statistics that we are compiling from the Pulse system and that means that there are problems with the data that reside within the Pulse system and that is why the statistics are published under reservation," Mr Dalton told the Committee.
Mr Dalton explained that classifying the statistics as "under reservation" meant there were concerns around the source. He said the only sources of crime statistics was based on the Pulse system.
He said the CSO was working continuously with the force to improve data recording and to ensure that the crime recording rules are followed.
Among the problems identified with the data included the difference between the number of crimes reported and subsequently recorded in the system; the recording of the completeness of the crime; and the timeliness of the recording.
Assistant Director of the CSO Richard McMahon said there had been improvements following the CSO's quality reviews and that the Pulse system is being adapted by the force to address the issues raised.
"It's important to note there have been improvements, but still significant gaps exist," Mr McMahon said.
Mr Dalton told members it was important the force appoints a single person at a very senior level to oversee data recording.
The committee was told that there are similar difficulties in other jurisdictions in the recording of crime statistics because forces are working with systems designed for administration rather that statistical purposes.
Crime statistics in the UK were downgraded from official statistics to unofficial statistics arising from quality concerns around the data.
