Labour expected to back moves for new Garda authority

Labour Ministers are expected to support an initiative by party backbenchers calling for a separate Garda authority to oversee the 13,000-strong force.

A senior party source said yesterday the leadership supported the argument made by five TDs and two senators in a letter to The Irish Times this weekend that the Garda Síochána and its commissioner should be accountable to a board or authority.

Under the present arrangement, they are accountable to the Minister for Justice and Secretary of the Department of Justice.

If adopted by the party, and if its Ministers push for it at Government level as a response to the recent spate of controversies surrounding Garda operations, it could put Labour on a collision course with Fine Gael.

While the establishment of an authority is Labour policy, it does not form part of the Programme for Government. For Fine Gael, a Garda authority or board has never been on its agenda, and it would be likely to resist such a move, even if it was pressed by Labour.

Fine Gael
The Fine Gael position has been that no change be made to the current situation where the commissioner reports only to the Minister and the department.

The unusual dual role of the commissioner as head of police but also head of State security has been cited in support of maintaining the status quo.

The letter is signed by Deputies Robert Dowds, Anne Ferris, Sean Kenny, Gerald Nash and Derek Nolan, as well as Senators Ivana Bacik and Susan O'Keeffe. It calls on the all-party Oireachtas Committee on Justice to broaden the remit of its upcoming review of Garda oversight, to include considering the establishment of a new Garda authority.

At present, the terms of reference confine the committee to reviewing the powers and functions of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).

“The establishment of a Garda Authority must form part of that debate. Our current system of Garda oversight isn’t working. The gardaí and the public deserve better,” they argue.

The letter states that the role of GSOC is limited to examining complaints of wrongdoing. It has argued for a broader debate about the accountability of An Garda Síochána, and has said that much can be learned about how Chris Patten and his colleagues reformed police arrangements in Northern Ireland. That included the setting up of a policing board that set priorities for police, has monitored its performance, and has held its most senior officers to account.

“In many countries it is considered wise, if not essential, that the police should be responsible to some body other than just the Minister or the Department of Justice. This acts as a guard against abuse but it also provides an element of transparency and openness which serves the interest of the police and the public.”