Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. I will take my time. The Chairman is correct. I probably should have been more specific. Amendments Nos. 9 to 21, inclusive, deal with the Garda Commissioner. Amendments Nos. 23 to 35 refer to the deputy commissioner. Amendments Nos. 37 to 62 deal with the issue of directly appointing officers from sergeant up to superintendent. A provision in the Bill allows the Minister to hold, initiate and oversee inquiries into policing matters. Amendments Nos. 63 to 69 give those powers to the authority. Amendments Nos. 71 to 73 are technical amendments in line with the power being given to the authority to remove officers.

The intention of amendment No. 74 is to give the Garda Commissioner, with oversight from the authority, as opposed to the Minister, the power to appoint gardaí, sergeants and inspectors. I do not intend that the authority would be directly involved with the many sergeants, inspectors and superintendents who are promoted every year, but that it would have oversight of the process undertaken by the Garda Commissioner. Amendment No. 77 provides that the Minister's consent is not required for the appointment of civilian Garda staff and gives oversight to the authority in this regard. Amendment No. 78 provides that the Minister's approval for setting the priorities of the Garda Síochána is not required. The authority should, again, be independent in its functions and should be responsible for the oversight. Amendments Nos. 141, 142, 149, 151 and 152 relate to giving power to the authority rather than to the Garda Commissioner or the Minister.

I will outline the powers that the Government would retain under the legislation. The Commissioner and deputy commissioner would be appointed and removed by the Government. The Commissioner would be accountable to the Government. Although it has been stated that the Commissioner would remain accountable to the Government on matters of national security, this is inaccurate. The original provision on accountability would not be altered. The Commissioner would remain accountable to the Minister for the performance of his or her functions and those of the Garda Síochána. This concerns all aspects of policing, not just national security. Policing plans, strategies and priorities would have to be confirmed by the Government. The Government would set security priorities and budgets. The Minister could demand any documents of the Garda Síochána and issue written directives to the Garda Síochána and the authority. CCTV schemes must be approved by the Minister. Ministerial consent would be required for GSOC to investigate the Commissioner. The Minister would decide the number of senior rank positions and consent to the number of civilian staff, the appointment of members to the audit committee and the appointment of the CEO of the authority. The Minister would decide what constitutes State security. Government consent would be required for gardaí to work in a police service in another state. The Minister would authorise the delegation of the Commissioner's functions to the deputy commissioner.

The Minister can appoint someone to inquire into any aspect of policing.