Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Policing Authority: Discussion

9:00 am

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In some ways this is a slightly difficult session because the Policing Authority is relatively new and everybody is on a learning curve, not least the authority. One thing Ms Feehily has highlighted clearly is the authority's role in overseeing performance. Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring was here last week and was very frank about the legislative shortcomings that stifled her organisation's ability to do its job properly in terms of dealing with complaints. Has the Policing Authority noticed any legislative shortcomings in its task of overseeing performance, particularly from the point of view that it has to share the authority? A really independent Policing Authority would be able to make the decisions for itself. The way the legislation is framed means that a lot of the powers remain in the hands of the Minister for Justice and Equality. In that context, how much interaction has there been between the Policing Authority and the Minister since its establishment? Have there been formal, face-to-face meetings? Is there regular dialogue with departmental officials? How much nitty-gritty has the Policing Authority got into in that regard? It is particularly pertinent to deal with appointments and I will deal with that in a minute. Overall, what level of engagement has gone on there?

In the public mind, the Policing Authority came onto the map around the time of the O'Higgins report with a very hard-hitting and frank statement about the holding of public hearings and the attempt to hold the Commissioner to account. That is at the heart of what the public would see the Policing Authority's function to be. Maybe in some ways the public meetings lacked teeth or a certain oomph. I am not really sure why. One gets the impression that, in part because of the way the Act is structured and because ultimately the authority does not really have the power to deal with the Commissioner, the establishment within the Garda authorities can come along and paint a merry story. What checks are going on behind the scenes?

I will deal with two issues in particular. One is the treatment of whistleblowers and protected disclosures. There is no doubt that the Policing Authority would not have been set up if it was not for whistleblowers, who were instrumental in shining a light on what was going on. One of the first public hearings the Policing Authority had was on the new protected disclosure policy.

I attended the meeting at which the Commissioner lauded the new policy. Every garda was going to get it. A new liaison person was appointed and everything was going be absolutely great. The Policing Authority issued a statement after that stating it would actively oversee the development of a safe environment in which people could report wrongdoing.

My knowledge of what has gone on inside An Garda Síochána under the new policy indicates that it is still not a safe place for whistleblowers to make protected disclosures. There are many shortcomings there. Since that policy was aired in public in a practical sense, has Ms Feehily had much opportunity to engage directly with the Commissioner - not just at public meetings, but also non-public fora - at deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner or whatever other level that interaction takes place? While I am not criticising it, I know there has been no engagement with the whistleblowers themselves. I am sure the Policing Authority would not see that as its role. How can very real shortcomings be brought to the authority's attention other than learning it from the hierarchy, which is its point of contact? How does Ms Feehily see that? If the Policing Authority is going to oversee performance, it must be able to oversee past that first layer and what level of engagement will have gone on.

My last point is the most important and relates to appointments. The legislation gave the authority power and responsibility with regard to appointments. We all know that a raft of senior Garda appointments were made without the authority's input at the year's inception, which makes a mockery of the Act in the first place, particularly when many people who were on promotions list are the very people against whom complaints have been made by whistleblowers. We have this sort of ridiculous circle as a result of that. Who gets promoted is critical in terms of transforming how a police service operates and the feeling of the public would be very much that the old boy network of people being appointed needs to be broken down. This is one of the authority's key tasks, but it has not been allowed to do that. Has it made representations to the Minister to try to stop that from happening? I believe the authority should be given that and the fact that it has not been enshrines a layer of Garda hierarchy over which it does not have any say or accountability which restricts the role somewhat.

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