Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 3, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 82(1) of Principal Act

4. Section 82(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):“(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

‘admissible complaint’ means a complaint determined by the Ombudsman Commission under section 87 to be admissible;

‘breach of discipline’ means conduct specified in Schedule 5;

‘complainant’ means—

(a) a person who makes a complaint,

(b) a person on whose behalf a complaint is made, and

(c) where a complaint is made on behalf of another by a person authorised to do so under section 83, the authorised person;

‘conduct’ includes any act or omission and a reference to the occurrence of an any conduct includes the doing of an act or the making of an omission;

‘disciplinary proceeding’ means a proceeding conducted in accordance with the Disciplinary Regulations;

‘Garda Commissioner’ includes a Deputy Garda Commissioner or an Assistant Garda Commissioner acting in place of the Garda Commissioner under section 32;

‘Independent Adjudicator’ means a member of the judiciary chosen to adjudicate on disputes between the Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Inspectorate;

‘member of the Garda Síochána’ does not include the Garda Commissioner;

‘member of the public’ means a person other than a member of the Garda Síochána or the Garda Commissioner;

‘misbehaviour’ means conduct that constitutes an offence or a breach of discipline;

‘serious harm’ means injury that—

(a) creates a substantial risk of death,

(b) causes serious disfigurement, or

(c) causes substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of any particular bodily member or

organ.”.”.

As the rationale behind amendment No. 5 is the same as that outlined previously, I will not repeat it. Amendment No. 9 would provide for the removal of powers from the Minister to allow GSOC to retain its independence. The rationale behind this group of amendments is to ensure GSOC will be as independent as possible of the Minister and the Department of Justice and Equality.