I propose to take Questions Nos. 762 to 778, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will be aware, I established the Disclosures Tribunal following the passing of Resolutions by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann on 16 February 2017.
As the Deputy will also be aware it is the Garda Commissioner who has statutory responsibility to carry on and manage and control generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána. Accordingly, the putting in place of internal structures to service the Tribunal is a matter for the Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. The question of Government approval does not arise.
Having said that, the Government has been anxious to ensure that the Disclosures Tribunal receives the greatest degree of assistance possible from all parties, not least An Garda Síochána, and to that end has been supportive of the Commissioner in ensuring that she has the resources at her disposal to service the Tribunal in a timely and effective manner. This has been particularly important in the context of the sole member's stated intention to carry out the work of the Tribunal rapidly. The Commissioner identified a requirement that could best be met by the re-engagement of a small number of retired persons and my Department approved this in February 2017, subject to formal sanction, which was conveyed in May 2017. The formal sanction provided for the engagement of three persons (i.e. two retired members of An Garda Síochána and one civilian) for up to 9 months for the purposes of servicing the Tribunal. I am advised that the services of two former members of An Garda Síochána (a former Chief Superintendent and a former Assistant Commissioner) have been engaged for a period of six months to 31 August 2017 and that their contracts fully comply with pension abatement regulations. My Department was not consulted nor should it have been in relation to the selection of the individuals concerned. In the event I understand that it has not proved possible to recruit the former civilian member.
The rehiring of persons on a contract basis does not require the approval of either the Policing Authority or the Government. Neither is there a requirement to tender for the purposes of rehiring retired individuals on a temporary basis.
Approval was also formally conveyed in May 2017 to retain the services of a solicitor which would require a procurement process and the involvement of the Office of Government Procurement. In the event, those services are being provided by the Chief State Solicitor's Office and the Commissioner has not availed of the sanction to date.
It should be understood that the provision of these additional resources is to ensure that An Garda Síochána as an organisation is able to cooperate with the Tribunal to the fullest extent, without unduly affecting the ability of the organisation to continue to carry out its vital work, and in that context the Commissioner judged it appropriate that some persons be engaged externally, as with the retired members who have been taken on.
Given the independence of the Disclosures Tribunal, matters relating to access to the Tribunal by members of An Garda Síochána, or indeed by any person, is a matter for the sole member, Mr. Justice Peter Charleton, to decide on. Any member of An Garda Síochána who is or may be requested to cooperate with the Tribunal may either seek his/her own legal assistance or raise the issue of representation by the legal team retained by the Commissioner, and it should be noted that the sole member has already granted legal representation to An Garda Síochána as a whole and to various other parties, including a number of individual Garda members who have a particular interest in the matters to be examined by the Tribunal.
The work of the two retired members supports the Disclosure Tribunal Co-Ordination Office based in Garda Headquarters. That office is staffed by one full-time member, seconded temporarily from the Office of Corporate Communications. A number of additional personnel are facilitating the work of this office on an ad hoc basis as requirements dictate. I am further informed that liaison persons have been nominated from relevant sections/Regions to deal with specific requests from the Tribunal.
Finally, as the Deputy will be aware the sole member has indicated that the Tribunal will be commencing public hearings shortly and it is important that everyone should allow the Tribunal to get on with the very important work with which it has been tasked.
