97 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Justice the progress made in relation to the proposed delivery of district court summonses by An Post personnel; the number of gardaí that would be free to return to normal duties if such a move took place; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Discussions are taking place between Officials of my Department and An Post about the implementation of recorded delivery of summonses by post. These discussions centre principally on technical difficulties surrounding the design of purpose-built paper handling equipment that will automate the process of enveloping the summonses and enable proof of delivery to be returned to the court.

It is not possible at this stage to say precisely how many gardaí can be diverted to other policing tasks when the change-over to summons serving by post will be completed, but it is expected that the number will be substantial.