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Departmental Legal Costs

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2014

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Questions (426, 427, 428)

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy

Question:

426. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown of his Department's expenditure on legal proceedings initiated and defended by his Department's special investigation unit over the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27154/14]

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Marcella Corcoran Kennedy

Question:

427. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider the establishment of an ombudsman for the special investigations unit at his Department. [27157/14]

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Marcella Corcoran Kennedy

Question:

428. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the special investigations unit at his Department come under the remit of GSOC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27160/14]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 426 to 428, inclusive together.

As the Deputy is aware, the agriculture and food sector contributes significantly to the Irish economy, not least because of the reputation that our produce has earned in the marketplace from the perspective of food safety and integrity. This reputation arises as a direct result of the high level of compliance from stakeholders, coupled with effective enforcement on the part of the staff in my Department. The Deputy will be aware that any system of enforcement must carry sanctions which are effective, proportionate and dissuasive. In a minority of cases, this includes submission of files for prosecution before the Courts. These controls are effected by a range of DAFM inspectorates, including the Special Investigation Unit, which constitutes a very small proportion of the overall DAFM staff involved in implementing legislation and in investigating breaches.

The legal costs associated with legal proceedings initiated by my Department as a result of the investigations carried out by the Unit are, in general, borne by the CSSO and are a matter for that body. However, since 2004, my Department has paid €126,057 in respect of legal proceedings arising from investigations by the Special Investigation Unit. Such costs have to be seen in the context of the need to preserve the reputation of Irish agriculture and food, exports of which amounted to €10.7 billion in 2013.

The investigative procedures adopted by the SIU comply with the standard requirements in regard to the taking and presentation of evidence and the rights of the person or persons being investigated. They follow the same protocols as are used for criminal investigation carried out by the Gardaí A formal code of practice relating to the operations of the SIU, which codified existing guidelines, was put in place in February 2004.

If stakeholders or members of the public are dissatisfied with the conduct of any member of the Unit, they may, in the first instance, use the Department’s documented complaints procedure, which provides for an investigation of the complaint by more senior Department staff who themselves have had no direct role in the original engagement with the client. If still dissatisfied with the outcome, a complainant also has the right to have his/her complaint forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman. As the Office of the Ombudsman already has jurisdiction to investigate complaints by members of the public who believe that they have been unfairly treated by my Department, I would see no reason to seek to establish a further Ombudsman Office.

The Deputy will be aware the role of GSOC is to receive and deal with complaints made by members of the public concerning the conduct of members of the Garda Síochána – it has no role outside of this remit.

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