Mr. Kieran FitzGerald:

Yes, it would include minor complaints and at the moment many minor complaints come to us.

If I understand the Deputy's question correctly, the best way to do so is to define how we break up complaints. There are even categories within the minor complaints area. We categorise some as service level complaints where a level of public service, perhaps as simple as common politeness, is allegedly not observed and delivered to a complainant by An Garda Síochána. These are the subject of the local intervention scheme to which Ms Justice Ring referred in our opening statement. We have tried to establish local intervention and in fairness to An Garda Síochána, it engaged positively with it, especially at pilot stage. The scheme is showing green shoots and An Garda Síochána has looked to roll it out widely, although not fully nationwide.

That would deal with minor complaints on matters such as the non-return of a phone call or simple impoliteness or discourtesy. However, there is another level of complaint that would be less serious, depending on one's perspective, involving discourtesies that are not suitable for local intervention and the individual in question feels he or she needs the vindication of bringing a complaint to an oversight body. Such complaints come to us and would continue to come to us in future according to the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. Under the current legislation, we can send many of these complaints back to An Garda Síochána. That would not be the case in the future, however, as we would deal with these complaints ourselves. That is why, for example, Ms Justice Ring referred to the issue of resources for this task because these complaints obviously command a fair amount of Garda resources and would require our resources in future. We have no difficulty with that and it is right that they would come to us.

Where appropriate, local intervention is a very worthwhile initiative and one which we will try to reinforce. We will work positively and closely with An Garda Síochána to implement it. Many of these matters are a basic public service and should not be the subject of complicated investigative mechanisms that are resource heavy, adversarial and confrontational. The whole process is currently structured around finding a garda guilty of misconduct or of a crime. In the new legislation, we are trying to focus on resolving the problem. Resolving the problem is much more significant at the minor level. In respect of more serious complaints where serious misconduct or a crime might be alleged, other sanctions are obviously more appropriate.