Ms Josephine Feehily:

In our submission, we referred to functions needing to exist in the architecture. Whether those functions or powers are given to the Policing Authority or to some other body is not the primary issue. The functions of oversight, public challenge, accountability, inspection and complaints must be provided for. They can be divided six different ways but they all have to be there. It has to start with sorting out the legal position with regard to the Government and the Minister. We can like all we want but there is no point in us liking something. There are strong legal views, for example, that because policing is part of the Executive branch there should not be an authority. If that is the position, there is no point in giving us additional powers. We do not want any more half powers.

The Secretary General is explicitly cited in the Act but we have to start by resolving where the Government, the Minister and the Department of Justice and Equality fit in. Then we can work out how to organise the pieces that are left. If the existing infrastructure is retained, whereby accountability on all matters continues to be to the Minister, I am not sure that there would be space left for three bodies because we are tripping over each other a bit. We all have review and research powers. The plea we made in our submission was less about designing the boxes and more about the fact that the functions must be there but need to be rationalised to remove duplication. The public is confused at this stage. We get letters every day addressed to the Garda Inspectorate and it gets letters addressed to us. Some people think that the Policing Authority is the appeals board for GSOC but it is not.

We are not. oversight, which it must do, has a parallel set of meetings with the guards. Quite frankly, I feel sorry for the guards who have to run between the four of us. The Policing Authority would like rationalisation but first it must be clarified where the Government and the Minister fit in. The authority's view is that their role should be as small as possible, in terms of public confidence. If it was as small as possible then it would be much easier to decide how to package the other functions.