Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 January 2021
620. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the number of investigations which had to be referred back to An Garda Síochána from GSOC in order to be completed in each of the years 2015 to 2020, in tabular form. [3587/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission has a very important role to play in ensuring public confidence in An Garda Síochána and it has extensive powers under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended).
The Government is committed to ensuring that GSOC has the necessary supports and resources in order to fulfil its statutory functions and mandate. I can inform the Deputy that Budget 2021 made provision of €11.27 million for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
As the Deputy may be aware, GSOC investigations do not have to be referred back to An Garda Síochána in order to be completed. They are referred back either under statutory provisions under sections 94(1) and 94(5) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended) or when a judgement is made by GSOC that the matters under scrutiny fall more at the lower end of the discipline-only spectrum and so are more appropriately dealt with by An Garda Síochána.
Unsupervised disciplinary investigations are conducted under section 94 (1) of the Act by Garda superintendents in line with the Garda Discipline Regulations. The Protocols between GSOC and An Garda Síochána say that unsupervised investigations must be completed and a final report issued to GSOC within 16 weeks. An example of the kind of case that is investigated in this way is an allegation that there was abuse of authority in the manner in which an arrest was conducted.
In addition, supervised disciplinary investigations are conducted under section 94(5) of the Act, by Garda superintendents also but are supervised by GSOC investigators who meet with the Garda superintendents to agree an investigation plan. The GSOC investigator can direct and partake in the investigative actions, and must receive interim reports. The Protocols say that supervised disciplinary investigations must be completed and an investigation report provided within 20 weeks. Supervised investigations are appropriate in more serious allegations of neglect of duty.
The tables below, furnished to me by GSOC, set out the number of investigations opened under section 94(1), i.e. unsupervised investigation by An Garda Síochána, and section 94(5), i.e. investigation by An Garda Síochána supervised by GSOC, in the years 2015 – 2020, making a total of 3,890 cases.
|
Year |
s.94 (1)(unsupervised investigation by An Garda Síochána) |
s.94 (5)(investigation by An Garda Síochána supervised by GSOC) |
|
2015 |
468 |
127 |
|
2016 |
503 |
184 |
|
2017 |
590 |
191 |
|
2018 |
579 |
146 |
|
2019 |
449 |
113 |
|
2020 |
434 |
106 |
|
Totals |
3023 |
867 |
The following chart shows the cases that were referred back to An Garda Síochána for investigation under section 94(1) or 94(5) following a determination made by GSOC that the matters under scrutiny fall more at the lower end of the discipline-only spectrum and so are more appropriately dealt with by An Garda Síochána.
|
Year |
s.94 (1) |
s.94 (5) |
|
2015 |
0 |
11 |
|
2016 |
0 |
9 |
|
2017 |
0 |
8 |
|
2018 |
0 |
0 |
|
2019 |
0 |
1 |
|
2020 |
0 |
0 |
|
Totals |
0 |
29 |
Additionally, since the start of 2018, GSOC has referred cases to An Garda Síochána for Local Intervention . This is a process whereby complaints made by members of the public to GSOC about service they have received from An Garda Síochána may be resolved at a local level. Such complaints are referred to nominated Garda inspectors who will attempt to resolve matters to the complainant’s satisfaction. This is on the basis that cases which involve a service level complaint, of a minor nature, may be resolved quickly and satisfactorily in this manner, thus freeing up investigative resources to deal with more serious disciplinary and criminal complaints.
The table below sets out the number of cases referred to An Garda Síochána for Local Intervention.
|
Year |
Local Interventions |
|
2015 |
0 |
|
2016 |
0 |
|
2017 |
0 |
|
2018 |
43 |
|
2019 |
239 |
|
2020 |
263 |
|
Totals |
545 |
It is also worth noting that the system utilised by GSOC to manage the Local Intervention process is not automated and dependent on manual data entry. Similarly, the analytical tools which exist in relation to other areas of GSOC’s Case Handling System do not apply to the Local Intervention process.
Of the 545 cases referred for Local Intervention, 145 cases were referred back to GSOC for admissibility. The following table counts those cases which were determined as admissible and sets out whether they were investigated under section 94(1) or section 94(5).
|
Year |
s.94 (1)(unsupervised investigation by An Garda Síochána) |
s.94 (5)(investigation by An Garda Síochána supervised by GSOC) |
|
2015 |
0 |
0 |
|
2016 |
0 |
0 |
|
2017 |
1 |
0 |
|
2018 |
6 |
0 |
|
2019 |
27 |
2 |
|
2020 |
64 |
2 |
|
Totals |
98 |
4 |
NOTE: the case from 2017 was admitted in November 2017 but then identified as suitable for Local Intervention at the start of the pilot in early January 2018.
