Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has vowed to investigate any alleged wrongdoing in the banking sector saying there was never a white collar crime the force was unable to investigate.
Responding to calls from Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) for the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) to investigate the “banking elite”, Mr Murphy said he believes the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation to best placed to carry out the probe.
“The Cab has a particular remit and I wouldn’t want it to be used for anything other than that remit,” Mr Murphy said at the AGSI’s annual conference in Athlone, Co Westmeath.
“I am very happy and confident that the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation has 65 staff and that they are able to investigate these matters. There’s never been a white collar crime that An Garda Síochána wasn’t able to investigate.”
He said when he had received a complaint about banking practices from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement he appointed Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne to lead the investigation.
Mr Murphy said Mr Byrne was in charge of national support services and had command of any of the specialist units in the force that might be needed to investigate any banking matter.
Mr Murphy refuted recent media reports that suggested Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan was now in charge of Garda promotions, as part of the public sector recruitment and promotions freeze.
He said while Mr Lenihan would now approve any promotion in the force, it had always been the case that promotions of superintendents and higher ranking officers were approved by the Government.
Under the measures just introduced the selection of an individual to be promoted would remain within the Garda. Proposed promotions would then be taken to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, who would in turn make the case to Mr Lenihan for the sanctioning of the monies needed for the promotion.
Mr Murphy said that under the public sector recruitment and promotions moratorium, there was a waiver clause for exceptional cases. He was currently discussing this clause with Mr Ahern and his senior officials and expected progress soon in relation to Garda promotions.
“To run the Garda Síochána there are a number of positions throughout the country at superintendent rank and at chief superintendent rank which hold statutory responsibilities and I need to have people in those positions,” he said.
He suggested some vacancies would be filled with redeployments and by “training up” personnel to assume some of the responsibilities of a more senior colleague who had retired.
The Garda College in Templemore would see a fall off in the numbers of students because of the recruitment freeze meaning the facility could be used to “train up” personnel.
However, despite the recruitment freeze he believed the An Garda Síochána was now well placed to meet the challenges ahead.
“If this happened three or four years ago he would have been quite different,” he said of the recruitment freeze.
“Right now I have 14,500 sworn officers, I have 2,000 officials, 330 reservists, I have a total of 17,000 people, with 700 plus (student gardaí) in training. So we’re starting from a good base.”
While he was “concerned” at the ten gun murders so far this year he was “heartened” at progress being made in many of the investigations into those killings.
The number of firearms and guns being seized and the increased number of people before the courts on drugs charges was proof of the Garda’s effectiveness in tackling organised crime.
Mr Murphy told AGSI delegates that there was €80 million available this year for overtime, including €21 million for Operation Anvil, which targets organised crime.
Any “discretionary resources” would be diverted to boost overtime.