Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
1256. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she will initiate a review of the procedure in which the Director of Public Prosecutions delegates low-level prosecutions at District Court level to gardaí; and the plans she has to meet with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Garda Commissioner on this matter. [1393/22]
View answer1286. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice her plans to implement a recommendation (details supplied) from the 2018 report, The Future of Policing in Ireland. [1970/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1256 and 1286 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Director of Public Prosecutions is an independent law officer under the provisions of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 (as amended), and the Director is fully independent in their functions. As Minister, I play no role in the Office of the Director and am unable to initiate any review into the operations, policies or procedures of the Office of the DPP as a result. As the Deputy will also be aware, a number of offences are provided for on the statute book where summary prosecutions may be undertaken by a member of An Garda Síochána at the direction of the DPP.
The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recommended that this situation be reviewed and the recommendation was accepted in principle by Government, subject to further evaluation on the implications, including resource implications, how best it might be achieved, and the timing of implementation.
A High Level Review Group on the Role of An Garda Síochána in the Public Prosecution System (HLRG) was established in September 2020 to conduct this evaluation and to recommend a preferred option for consideration by Government. The HLRG is to report to Government via the Department of the Taoiseach, to take account of the independence of the DPP.
The HLRG is chaired by former Secretary General to the Government, Mr Dermot McCarthy, and is comprised of representatives from relevant stakeholders including Government Departments, the Judiciary, An Garda Síochána, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the State Solicitors’ Association, the NGO sector, academics and legal practitioners.
The Group decided that its work should be grounded in empirical analysis, applying the experience and expertise of its members, to prepare recommendations for the Government. In considering the implications of changes to this system recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing, the Group decided to have particular regard to:
- international best practice and the experience of relevant jurisdictions which had made changes to their prosecution systems over recent years;
- the experience of operating different prosecution procedures in the Dublin Metropolitan Region compared to the rest of the country; and
- the cost of current practices and policies to serve as a benchmark in evaluating options for change.
The HLRG submitted an interim report on its work in accordance with its terms of reference in Q1 2021. While not required under their terms of reference, a second interim report in respect of the HLRG’s activity during 2021 was recently submitted to me.
The HLRG was conscious of the need to ensure that Ireland’s prosecution system fits within the international standards and norms expected of a developed democracy and to take advantage of the lessons learned in other jurisdictions in their experience of reforming their prosecution services. To this end the HLRG commissioned bespoke research from academics with relevant expertise, who provided in September 2021 a report examining issues including:
- the experience of Common Law jurisdictions and those which operate under the general jurisprudence of European victims’ rights law or equivalent;
- jurisdictions where changes have taken place in the conduct of prosecutions, especially with regard to the role of the police; and
- the role of law enforcement and non-policing agencies in prosecutorial regimes, including decisions to prosecute and the conduct of prosecutions.
Once alternative models have been developed and costed, these models will be considered by the HLRG who will in turn select from these a preferred recommendation. The work of the HLRG and the preferred recommendation are to be the subject of the HLRG’s final report to Government in accordance with the Group’s terms of reference. It is the expectation of the HLRG and chair that it will be in a position to complete its report and make recommendations to the Government during Q1 of this year.
