Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 October 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Recent Issues Relating to An Garda Síochána: Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin

9:00 am

Photo of Jim O'CallaghanJim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an gCoimisinéir gníomhach as an bpost an-dúshlánach nua atá aige. Níl obair éasca le déanamh aige. Tá súil agam go mbeidh sé an-rathúil sa phost sa bhliain atá le teacht. I welcome the acting Commissioner and congratulate him on his new position, which is probably the most difficult job in Ireland at present, whether acting or not. I wish him well. In his report, he mentioned that gardaí and senior management had a responsibility to put An Garda Síochána right and he is correct about that. He is not alone, though, and the responsibility extends beyond An Garda Síochána to the Government, Members of the Oireachtas and oversight bodies. There needs to be recognition that he is not on his own in having to solve the problems. Others, myself included, have responsibilities too.

I want to ask some questions of the assistant commissioner, Mr. O'Sullivan, but I first want to recognise another issue mentioned in the opening statement, which was the report of Dr. Shannon on the use by An Garda Síochána of section 12 of the Child Care Act. An Garda Síochána is subjected to a lot of criticism but that was not the case in Dr. Shannon's report and when the force does things well it deserves to be commended on it. One of the most extraordinary powers this State has is the ability to take a child away from its parents and Dr. Shannon says that gardaí performed that role admirably and with sensitivity.

Am I correct that the assistant commissioner's report cannot definitively conclude what the reason was for 1.4 million breath tests that were on the PULSE system but did not happen? He comes up with a number of options which he thinks are likely explanations, one of which is the inflation of breath tests by members of An Garda Síochána. Is that correct?

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.