Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 January 2018
23. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if ministerial sign off by his Department was sought and received for the financing required to rehire retired members of An Garda Síochána to staff the liaison unit for the Charleton Tribunal. [2119/18]
View answerIn March 2017 the Department of Justice and Equality wrote to my Department seeking sanction for two retired members of An Garda Síochána and one civilian to support the work of the Disclosures Tribunal. It was the view of the Department of Justice and Equality that these resources were required to support the timely completion of the work of the Tribunal and also to minimise any potential negative impacts on the delivery of the Garda Modernisation and Renewal Programme. My Department responded in April seeking assurances that alternative approaches had been considered and that the re-hiring of former senior Garda officers would not negatively affect the workings of the Tribunal. The Department of Justice and Equality subsequently wrote back to my Department later that month providing an assurance that it was satisfied that the proposed approach was the most appropriate one given the pressure on Garda corporate resources and the demanding timelines for the Tribunal. Accordingly, sanction was issued by my officials in early May based on this assessment.
It is the normal day to day process that sanctions are conveyed by officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on behalf of the Minister. In some cases particular proposals may be brought to my attention if it is warranted in the view of my officials from a policy or spending perspective. In this case, direct ministerial sign off was not sought given the assessments sought from and provided by the Department of Justice and Equality regarding the need to re-hire staff to support the Tribunal. This also took into account the urgency of the request and the relatively low level of expenditure involved.
