Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 12 December 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed)

9:00 am

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We saw in the past there were times where the Garda Commissioner of the day promoted friends and cronies around him and now we are moving back to a position where we are going to give more power to the Commissioner again. It is all very well if the Commissioner is good, and perhaps Drew Harris will be very good, and that is fine if it works well, but if the Commissioner has a tendency to circle himself with his friends, it might not work out quite so well.

In terms of the board, it is as if the commission is recommending that it be set up like a commercial organisation, but the point we made to Kathleen O'Toole when she appeared before this committee is that An Garda Síochána will not be run for profit. It is run to serve the public. This board is probably more suited to working with a commercial entity rather than a public body like An Garda Síochána. What does the Minister think of that point?

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