Demote gardaí who obstruct whistleblowers, says committee

New measures so that gardaí who interfere with or obstruct whistleblower claims can be demoted or fired have been recommended by an Oireachtas committee.

The culture within An Garda Síochána must develop and mature so that the true benefit of whistleblowers who identify wrongdoing is properly recognised, the committee has said.

The Joint Committee on Justice and Equality has also recommended that the law underpinning the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSoc) should be updated to allow it function more effectively.

At a launch of the committee’s report, the chairperson of GSoc, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, said there were times of the past years when the commission has felt “adrift in a sea of legislative sludge, without a paddle”.

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Minor complaints that constitute about 20 per cent of matters dealt with by the commission could be dealt with more effectively by the gardaí themselves, the report said. The GSoc should only be used to act as a secondary body for unresolved matters in such cases.

The committee has recommended that when GSoc reviews investigations made by the gardaí in relation to complaints, it should have the power to overturn the decisions arrived at.

Measures should be introduced to improve the speed at which investigations are concluded by the gardaí, and to prompt the provision by the gardaí of information sought by GSoc. The issue of whether GSoc should be able to go to the courts to force An Garda Síochána to comply with a request for information, is not dealt with in the report.

The committee has also recommended that retired members of the force could be the subject of GSoc investigations.

The new report on Garda Oversight and Accountability also said the Policing Authority’s remit should be expanded to include the Garda Commissioner’s office.

The authority should be able to “appoint, supervise and, where appropriate, discipline senior management within An Garda Síochána, including the Garda Commissioner, the Deputy Garda Commissioner, and Assistant Garda Commissioners.

“Such office holders should be fully accountable to the authority for the performance of their functions and be liable for removal from office by this body if warranted.”

The report also urges that the Garda Inspectorate, which inspects the operation and administration of An Garda Síochána, should be allowed make unannounced visits to garda stations.

The committee has recommended that all structures engaged in garda oversight and accountability be adequately resourced.

Committee member Clare Daly TD said it was agreed across the committee that the oversight bodies are not “adequately legally empowered to do their job”. Committee chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that notwithstanding the outstanding work done by the overwhelming majority of gardaí, the service has been “mired in controversy” in recent years, particularly in relation to whistleblowers.