49 Mr. Hilliard asked the Minister for Justice her views on whether a serious shortage of gardaí trained as scene-of-crime examiners is hampering criminal investigations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9156/97]

I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are 242 qualified scene-of-crime examiners in the Garda Síochána and that this number is sufficient for the operational demands placed on the Force.

50 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí designated as juvenile liaison officers for each of the Garda divisions; the number of offenders which have been dealt with under the scheme by county; and the number of these who are repeat offenders. [9092/97]

The deployment of the Garda Síochána is the responsibility of the Garda authorities.

They have informed me that the territorial area covered by a garda juvenile liaison officer is defined on the basis of a Garda district or division as appropriate. This does not always conform to county boundaries. The current deployment of juvenile liaison officers is set out by Garda division, in the following table:

Deployment of Juvenile Officers