Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will start where Senator Davitt finished by acknowledging the work of front-line gardaí. They go out every day and put themselves at risk to protect us, and that is to be acknowledged. They are ably supported by civilian staff. I acknowledge the members who have travelled here. I also acknowledge the president and members of Fórsa who are representing those in the Public Gallery and right across the country. I will try to get through the questions and points that have been raised over the past hour or so.

I will first respond to questions about GSOC or the new ombudsman body. I agree with many colleagues that at the moment, we have a process that is often too long or cumbersome. That is because there is a twin-stream process where it has to be identified whether a particular complaint is a criminal complaint or otherwise. You then have to go back and start at the beginning, which in itself prolongs and delays the overall process. It can be challenging. The overall objective here is to streamline, improve and quicken the process to identify initially whether it is a disciplinary matter or a criminal matter that needs to progress further. We need to continue to invest in staff and expand it. Every year in which I have been Minister, the staffing requirements and funding have increased in every budget. Discussions are obviously ongoing at the moment to see how we can continue to support and invest in GSOC and in the new body as this legislation is rolled out next year.

Senator Gallagher asked who is looking at GSOC. Obviously, the Ombudsman is the final stop for members of An Garda Síochána, as with the Ombudsman for Children, etc. However, there is a mechanism in this Bill whereby judicial reports can be asked for. I do not anticipate that this would happen often, but with the most serious issues or where concerns are raised, that judicial report can be requested to allow for a level of oversight. It is important to reiterate that the Ombudsman is the final body here. That has always been the case, irrespective of what we are talking about.

The board itself will be subject to a public appointments process. We obviously want to make sure there is good representation across the board, with the ability to advise the Commissioner in many different areas like human resources, governance or day-to-day management of An Garda Síochána. It is important that we allow a significant variation of representation on that board. That is exactly what will happen.

Most of those who have spoken here have referred to the need to provide reassurance and continue engaging with our civilian staff as this Bill is rolled out and implemented. I assure them that this will happen. I met with their representatives in the past few weeks and assured them that once we are able to engage with the terms and conditions that are being worked through - they are currently with senior management in An Garda Síochána - we will sit down and engage with them.I have again been reassured, and I have assured the union, that there will be no diminution of their rights in terms of status, grade or wages. I wish to be very clear on that again in the presence of the Members of this House. Further engagement is required on finalising the terms and conditions. I assure those involved that this engagement will happen as soon as we have the terms and conditions on which to be able to sit down and engage with them. I cannot speak further on that. I expect I will have them as soon as possible in the coming weeks. That will enable me to engage further with them.