Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If I raise something that has been raised before, I urge the Chairman to tell me. I apologise for missing the last hour of the meeting but I had to make a speech and cast a vote in the Seanad.

The Garda Síochána Act requires that GSOC should be independent in the performance of its functions. How does Mr. O'Brien's expression of regret to a Minister qualify as being independent in the performance of the commission's functions? There is no provision in the Act for GSOC representatives to express regret to anyone. GSOC must make its own decisions - be they wrong or right or simply decisions with which we disagree. The commission must be independent at all times. It seems to me, in the overall scheme of things, that this story reached the newspapers and immediately, Government sources, including the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice and Equality, went ballistic, targeted GSOC and then, within 48 hours, we had an expression of regret. I do not see that as being consistent with the requirement under law for GSOC to be independent.