Ms Josephine Feehily:

In response to Deputy Ó Laoghaire's question, that is why I was emphasising the chief executive's role. The authority's view is that the optimum structure is that the Garda Commissioner is clearly the employer and above that there is an oversight body. The model in most other countries is that the role of the policing authority or oversight body in the context of removal is confined to the senior ranks. Most commonly, it is confined to one or two of the most senior ranks. If the Garda Commissioner is to be in charge and held accountable for running the organisation then he or she has to be clearly the person who is in charge of the disciplinary processes, including dismissal. The Commissioner then needs to be seriously held to account for using those powers appropriately. That is why we referenced in our submission to the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland to the worrying trend of losing cases on procedural grounds. That is a problem for any employer and the Commissioner needs to be able to explain why An Garda Síochána is losing cases on procedural grounds. The short answer is that any oversight body that might come after the commission should only be involved in the dismissal of those in the most senior ranks.

In terms of Deputy Ó Laoghaire's other question, section 14 of the current Act refers to a summary dismissal. This is where the Garda Commissioner does not go through the full bells and whistles of the disciplinary regulations and does not put in place a disciplinary tribunal. That can only be done safely when the facts are not in doubt. It is useful to have a body like an authority consenting in those circumstances to make sure that a Commissioner does not run away with himself or herself in choosing a summary dismissal option. We can see a function for an authority to consent to something that the Commissioner has done in a summary situation because the power to dismiss someone without a disciplinary tribunal is a significant one which should be used sparingly.

In the current statutory framework, we could do that using an interpretation of section 13, if needed, for the ranks between superintendent and Assistant Garda Commissioner. That is provided for and we could engage in a summary dismissal where the facts are not in doubt. There is a page of actions we would have to take and they are all set out in the section but we think we have the power, if that was the intent of the provision. In future, however, we should be confined to the top layer.