Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 November 2022
578. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice if she influenced the decision to rename GSOC the Office of the Police Ombudsman; her views on whether, 100 years after the formation of An Garda Síochána, the decision to delete the word gardaí from the new Ombudsman’s Office is a retrograde step in terms of heritage and the Irish language. [59081/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill which was approved by Government on 22 November 2022 provides for the substantial reform of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission having regard to the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI).
As part of that reform the Ombudsman Commission is to be renamed Oifig an Ombudsman don Phóilíniú, or in the English language, Office of the Police Ombudsman to reinforce its independence from An Garda Síochána.
In particular, as identified by CoFPI, and supported by research undertaken by the Ombudsman Commission itself, the current name of the Commission by incorporating “Garda Síochána” presents a difficulty as some members of the public assume it is part of An Garda Síochána. This misconception creates challenges in engendering understanding of the Ombudsman Commission’s work. This concern was also raised by a number of stakeholders in the course of the pre-legislative scrutiny process undertaken by the Joint Committee on Justice on the General Scheme of the Bill.
As the body that is charged with independently investigating complaints from the public, it is important that the name of the body clearly conveys its independence from the body that it is overseeing, namely An Garda Síochána.
With regard to the importance of the Irish language, the Deputy may wish to note that the Bill gives primacy to the Irish language when naming the various bodies provided for under the Bill.
