To paraphrase the unfortunate words of a UK special adviser on 9/11, yesterday was a good day to bury bad news. While the Government was taking the unprecedented step of expelling a Russian diplomat in solidarity with another country, the Taoiseach's Department managed to get out the bad news, publishing the reports on the strategic communications unit and the Collins report on the Department of Justice and Equality. Despite the report finding no evidence of wrongdoing, the Government has decided to wind down the unit. The defence put forward by Ministers, do not hit me with a civil servant in my arms, completely misses the point. It was a Government decision to establish the unit and politicise Government communications.

These are important matters, but pale in comparison with the report published today. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, is an independent agency of this State which gathers information on economic, social and general activities and conditions in Ireland. It plays an essential role in informing the people and policymakers. It is independent but answerable to the Department of the Taoiseach. Today, it has published crime statistics for the first time since last June, a remarkable fact in itself. Those figures show a substantial increase in homicides. They show that there has been an 18% increase in reported homicides, an additional 234 incidents between 2003 and 2016. A caveat has been added to the previous CSO data of 2015. The statistics have been published under reservation, an action that is doubly troubling to those of us who place our trust in the institutions of this State. The independent agency has made observations about the recording and classification of crime. These crimes cover infanticide, dangerous driving causing death, manslaughter and murder. As I say, the revisions go back over 15 years to 2003, with an average of 18 extra deaths now classified as homicides each year. It is a matter of serious concern and has come to light due to the work of two civilian officers in the Garda statistics unit.

That homicides figures might have been reduced surreptitiously or by poor practice is an affront to our society. The public needs to have confidence that we have accurate recordings of the most serious crimes, that they are properly investigated and that our statistics are accurately reported. The Garda Commissioner has said that he is concerned about the shortage of supervision in the force. This echoes the criticism of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, about the shortage of supervisors. What action will the Taoiseach take to ensure our front-line gardaí are provided with the training and supervision that they need? Moreover, in light of the revelations about homicide statistics, will there be an independent investigation into how this happened? What other areas of crime statistics are currently being reviewed?

Yesterday was a busy day for Government. As on every Tuesday when the Dáil is in session we had a Cabinet meeting. There were 31 items on the Cabinet agenda yesterday, so many items that we had to have a morning meeting and an evening meeting. The items ranged from the Collins report to the discussion on Russia to abortion legislation, so while the Opposition may be obsessed with Government communications, I can totally reassure the House that the Government is obsessed with getting its work done. After we have got it done, then we communicate and that is the way things should be done.

The crime statistics produced by the CSO were only published at 11 a.m. this morning. I have not had a chance to study them or review them at this stage, because we have had less than an hour to do so, but in the first instance I welcome the fact the CSO is once again producing crime statistics, albeit under reservation, because statistics are important. What we do not measure we cannot improve, so it is important that we have good statistics that are accurate, that are comparable and that appear frequently and periodically. Even though they are under reservation, it is welcome that those statistics are becoming available again.

In terms of resources, an additional 800 gardaí are going to be recruited this year. That is in addition to the 600 extra gardaí recruited last year. About 500 civilians will be recruited to the Garda throughout the course of this year as well. That will allow more gardaí to do front-line work while civilians can do other work on their behalf. Our aim is to have a Garda force that is 14,000 strong by the end of this year and we are confident that can be achieved. There is also additional investment, as Members will know, in Garda vehicles and IT systems, which I think will be essential in improving PULSE data and making sure that it is accurate and up to date.