Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 February 2014
26. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will consider establishing a Garda Síochána independent board with monitoring, supervisory and oversight functions over An Garda Síochána in order to strengthen the democratic accountability of the force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5351/14]
View answerIt is important that the Garda Síochána is operationally independent and democratically accountable. The Garda Síochána Act 2005 seeks to achieve those objectives by specifying the functions of the Garda Commissioner and the Force, on the one hand, and the Minister for Justice, the Government and the Houses of the Oireachtas on the other. The Act provides that the Commissioner has the function of directing and controlling the Garda Síochána, and that he is accountable to the Minister for the performance of that function. The Commissioner is responsible for recruitment, training, discipline, the distribution of members and for all other aspects of the management and administration of the Force. The Act also made the Commissioner the Accounting Officer for the Force, and liable to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts in that capacity.
In addition, the 2005 Act established the Garda Ombudsman Commission, which is empowered to carry out independent investigations into Garda conduct, and also the Garda Inspectorate, which provides expert advice on achieving the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the operation and administration of the Force. The accountability of the Garda Síochána has, through these measures, been significantly strengthened.
There are those who advocate a police authority, but the onus is very much on them to explain how this would improve accountability. Up until recently, England and Wales would have been one of the main examples of a comparable jurisdiction with police authorities. But police authorities there were abolished in 2012 and replaced by directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners, precisely on the ground that police authorities were not sufficiently democratically accountable. It is true that Northern Ireland retains a police authority - the Policing Board - and it does a good job, but most people understand that the need for the Policing Board arises from the unique requirements associated with the need for confidence building in a cross-community environment.
Another important point often overlooked by those who advocate a separate authority is that the Garda Síochána is not only the police service in this jurisdiction, but is also the security and intelligence service of the State. This makes it even more appropriate that the Garda Síochána should be accountable to the Government and ultimately to the Oireachtas. I am willing to listen to all legislative proposals on accountability, but they must deal with the issues involved in a comprehensive and complete way.
