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

I thank Ms Feehily and Ms Hall for coming in. This will be short because the legislation under discussion is concise and made up of only three sections. It is useful to have the Policing Authority representatives before the committee because the purpose of the legislation is to give greater powers to the Policing Authority in respect of its supervisory role over An Garda Síochána.

Like most legislation, this comes out of an occasion or event of political controversy. You will remember, Chairman, that in March 2017 there was significant public concern about the fact that An Garda Síochána announced at a press conference that approximately 1 million false breath tests were recorded on the PULSE system and that approximately 1,500 wrongful convictions were secured in the District Courts because of errors made by An Garda Síochána. That was a significant issue and it had serious consequences.

From a policy perspective, one of the infuriating aspects of that issue was that no one outside of An Garda Síochána appeared to have been apprised of these facts. We know that the discrepancies in the intoxicant checkpoint data were known of within the force as far back as 2014. We know that a working group was established within the force to investigate the matters in July 2015. We know that the group reported the discrepancy in November 2016. However, these issues did not come into the public domain until March 2017.

The first purpose and primary policy objective of section 2 of this legislation is to try to ensure that senior management within An Garda Síochána will be obliged to bring issues of significant importance to the attention of the Policing Authority. Moreover, the purpose of section 2 is to impose an obligation on An Garda Síochána to inform the Policing Authority about any matters that required an internal review, audit or examination of the functions or operation of An Garda Síochána and that were requested by the Garda Commissioner, deputy commissioner or any assistant commissioner.

The benefit of this measure in the context of the breath test crisis is apparent. The Policing Authority would have been informed at the time the issue first became apparent. The Policing Authority would have been able to accompany and advise An Garda Síochána in terms of the importance of this being put into the public domain. It would also have prevented the Garda from deciding of its own accord when to go public on the issue. I believe it would be of benefit to the Garda. More important, it would be of benefit to the public interest.

We have seen during the past two years the issues in respect of the homicide review, which is ongoing. If a requirement was imposed on An Garda Síochána to inform the Policing Authority about significant audits ongoing, then the homicide review would have been commenced with the knowledge and awareness of the Policing Authority.

I do not believe we would have found ourselves in a position where the Policing Authority had to extract, sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully, information from An Garda Síochána in respect of the homicide review. It will be interested to hear the views of the Policing Authority on the requirement provided for in section 2.

In section 3 I seek to amend section 62 of the principal Act by providing powers allowing the Policing Authority to remove a member of An Garda Síochána if it is the opinion of the Policing Authority that a member’s conduct or continued membership is undermining public confidence in the force. It is extremely difficult to remove a member of An Garda Síochána, as it is to remove any member of the public service, which is as it should be. However, because the Policing Authority's role as a supervisory body is not only to supervise An Garda Síochána but to ensure there is public confidence in the force, it would be of benefit if this power, which we expect to be used infrequently and in exceptional circumstances, was provided to the Policing Authority.

There is sometimes, unfortunately, an assessment in the public mind that the Garda does not deal with wrongdoing or incompetence within the force effectively enough. I know it is the function of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, to deal with complaints from members of the public in respect of the force. However, if the Policing Authority had the power to remove a member of An Garda Síochána in exceptional circumstances, it would improve public confidence.

Section 4 was originally a proposal contained in a report of the joint committee published in 2016. It seeks to extend the powers of the Policing Authority in the manner proposed by the committee's report. The section would give powers to the Policing Authority in order that it can supervise the functioning of the Office of the Garda Commissioner and the discharge of the functions by the Commissioner. I believe Deputy Mick Wallace put forward a similar proposal previously. Obviously, this will not result in a member of the Policing Authority sitting in the Garda Commissioner's office every day. It would be of benefit, however, if there was some recognition of the enormous role played by the Garda Commissioner. The Policing Authority should be regarded as a co-partner, not in investigations or operational matters but to ensure there is awareness of and transparency in the crucial work carried out by the Garda. The Bill also empowers the Garda Inspectorate to make unannounced visits to Garda stations, which is also a useful provision. Currently, visits from the Garda Inspectorate must be announced. This is like a school knowing an inspector is coming; it will make sure the best students are ready and the best teacher is presented.

These are the proposals in this short Bill and I am very interested in hearing what the Policing Authority has to say about them. I assure Ms Feehily and Ms Hall that I am not sensitive or proprietorial about the Bill and I will not be offended if they believe it is rubbish. I ask them to inform the committee if parts of the Bill need to amended or if there are other parts where the Policing Authority's functions could be assisted by the Oireachtas passing laws. The exclusive responsibility for making laws rests with the Oireachtas, rather than the Policing Authority, but it is important for us to be aware of the practical impact our laws may have on the Policing Authority if they are passed.