Vol. 554 No. 5
1415 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the criteria under which the Garda Complaints Board operates; the type of complaint it is empowered to investigate; the type of complaint it is not allowed to investigate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17144/02]
The functions of the Garda Complaints Board are provided for in the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986. This legislation contains detailed provisions concerning the exercise of the powers allocated to the board and, in particular, section 4 of the 1986 Act enables the board to receive complaints from the public in respect of allegations of misconduct on the part of members of the Garda Síochána, provided certain conditions are met. The relevant conditions are effectively set out in section 4(3) of the Act and they include a requirement that the complainant must have been directly affected by or have witnessed the conduct alleged in the complaint and that the conduct complained of occurred within six months of the making of the complaint.
The Act enables the board to deal with a complaint where the alleged misconduct involved would constitute a criminal offence or be conduct specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Act. In that context, the main areas of conduct covered by the Fourth Schedule are discourtesy, neglect of duty, falsehood or prevarication, abuse of authority, corrupt or improper conduct, misuse of money or property in the custody of the Garda Síochána belonging to a member of the public, intoxication, discreditable conduct and being an accessory to conduct specified in the schedule.
