Gardaí who do their job and act within the rule of law have nothing to fear from complaints from members of the public, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said today.
Commenting on the Garda Complaints Board annual report, which dealt with more than 460 complaints last year, Commissioner Murphy said: “There will always be people who make complaints against the Gardai.
“You’ve got to do your job, be out there, act within the rule of law and you’ve got nothing to fear from complaints”.
He told journalists at the Garda graduation ceremony in Templemore, Co Tipperary today, that he was pleased overall with the report. “I have no doubt that all the changes we’re making are improving the professionalism of An Garda Siochana," he added.
Asked about gardaí closing ranks and breaching the law he said: “We’ve got to move on.
“There have been a lot of issues in the recent past, we’re just at the end of the Morris tribunal. It’s time for us to move on and concentrate on providing profession policing services to the community in this country.”
Of the cases ruled on last year by the Garda Complaints Board, 387 gardaí were found to have committed no offence or breach of discipline and 19 were resolved informally.
Another 47 deemed to be minor were referred to the Garda Commissioner and 34 looked upon more seriously were referred to the Complaints Tribunal.
There were 25 cases finalised involving 48 gardai and 110 alleged breaches of discipline.
In 12 of those cases a total of 17 members were found to be in breach of discipline and penalties were imposed of caution, reprimand and reduction in pay.
In one case, a Garda was sacked this year over his dealings with a woman who was stopped at a checkpoint. The officer, who pleaded guilty to two of seven alleged breaches of discipline before a Garda Complaints Board tribunal, is appealing against the dismissal.
In its last full annual report, the board said another officer was forced to resign last year over an incident involving the arrest of a juvenile.
But the officer - among five colleagues found guilty of 18 breaches of discipline - was later reinstated after a successful appeal.
The other members accused of abuse of authority, neglect of duty and discourtesy during the arrest were handed a range of penalties from reprimand to a reduction in pay, for up to a month.
Tribunals carried out under the board secure complete anonymity for officers facing disciplinary proceedings and only basic details of alleged offences are published.
Although the board stopped taking complaints in May last year, when the Garda Ombudsman Commission took over, it still has 19 tribunals outstanding.
There are another 12 cases which have been decided where the board has yet to rule on what disciplinary action should be handed down.
Four of these cases are being held up by court action.
There are a separate 16 legal challenges outstanding against decisions made by the board against garda officers.
Dr Gordon Holmes, chairman of the board, used his last full report to attack the Ombudsman over allegations made in a national newspaper last year.
He accused his successors of being totally incorrect and misleading the public over claims that the board took up to 18 months to resolve a complaint.
Dr Holmes said the board was “most disappointed” when its the Ombudsman refused to withdraw remarks about the alleged shortcoming.