New Garda commissioner to be appointed next month

A new Garda commissioner will be appointed early next month in what will be the highest profile element of force renewal following the publication of the Garda Inspectorate report.

Interviews for the position, which is currently held by Acting Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan, are approaching a final round with a decision expected soon afterwards.

Today both Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald and Ms O'Sullivan moved to emphasise the role of the victim in the criminal justice system and how this must be addressed in the wake of the report's critical findings.

Ms Fitzgerald said the document was of “serious concern” and highlighted a “huge need for systemic change”.

“There is a lot being said in this report about the response to victims of crime. They need to be dealt with appropriately; they need to get feedback,” she said.

“It is always shocking to see victims not getting the kind of service that they should get whether it’s from police or other services.”

The forthcoming legislation, in line with an EU directive, would put the victim more to the centre of the system, Ms Fitzgerald told RTÉ radio.

“Building trust is a slow enough process. I do believe the gardaí have enjoyed the trust of many communities around this country. But dealing with the recommendations that are in this report is not going to be overnight. There are short term recommendations that can be implemented immediately.”

Ms Fitzgerald also said the Garda had been neglected in terms of investment, particularly in the area of technology, something she is eager to address.

“The systems are completely out of date. It’s very clear during the years of the Celtic Tiger and in the recession that the gardaí did not get the investment in IT that a modern police force needs in order to keep up with the sophistication of current crime.”

Ms O’Sullivan also placed victims to the fore of her remarks, saying gardaí needed to “refocus” their understanding of them.

“We need to show compassion, we need to show empathy and we need to show understanding,” she said.

“I want to reassure victims of crime, particularly crimes of a sexual nature, rape and crimes against children, people can have confidence to come forward to An Garda Síochána.”

This message, she said, has now been relayed to all levels of Garda management.

"We do enjoy the support of the community at a rate that is enviable across Europe and that is even despite all of the controversies we have encountered recently," she said.

“Local gardaí continue to deal with members of the public in the way the public want to be dealt with.”

Speaking on RTÉ radio, Dermot O'Brien, president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said he could not accept any finding that suggested gardaí were not reporting all crimes on the Pulse system.

Regarding a finding that there were about 32,000 incidents where fingerprints were not taken but should have been, he said the system was in “an antiquated state”.

He said that some prisoners are not willing to give fingerprints and that the automated fingerprint system is available in only some divisional Garda headquarters.

The aim of automated fingerprinting, launched in 2007, was to introduce modern technology to help gardaí and immigration authorities validate identities of non-Europeans and asylum seekers as well as tackle abuses of the refugee, work visa and welfare systems.

Mr O’Brien said that the report is a “learning curve” and that oversight, leadership and training is needed along with more funding and personnel.

He said there was an issue with Garda management telling the Government the Garda had enough resources when it had not.

He said gardaí are recording all incidents of crime on the PULSE system and that he does not accept the findings that 38 per cent of crime is not recorded.