Mr. Drew Harris:

Good evening Chairperson and committee members. I thank you for this opportunity to give evidence to the committee. Certainly after the publication of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland report, An Garda Síochána accepted its recommendations in full. That remains the case. This has been followed by organisational commitment in implementing those recommendations under the Government’s A Policing Service for the Future reform programme. This has seen a large number of initiatives introduced by An Garda Síochána to improve the policing service we deliver to the public and provide additional supports for our personnel. For example, we have enhanced community policing as demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 820 gardaí have been redeployed from administrative roles to the front line Divisional protective services units are in place in every division staffed by more than 300 specialist gardaí. A new Garda anti-corruption unit has been introduced to promote the highest levels of integrity and professionalism within the organisation. We have had the establishment of a human rights unit and investment in human rights training across An Garda Síochána. An organisational redesign under the Garda operating model has continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

For our people, we have introduced measures such as a more transparent promotion process, improved internal communications and additional health and well-being supports. These significant advances would not have been possible without the support of our personnel. An Garda Síochána fully supports accountability, oversight and the independent investigation of public complaints as a route to public confidence in policing. An Garda Síochána agrees with the commission’s view that Garda oversight should be streamlined, should not lead to micromanagement of the Commissioner by those oversight bodies, and should not impinge on the operational independence of the Commissioner. The commission also said that the Commissioner should be a true CEO in charge of all executive functions who would have the support of an internal board in carrying out those functions. However, what is proposed under the current wording of the Bill will see the introduction of a wide range of oversight structures and bodies with overlapping remits that will see the Commissioner of the day spending disproportionate time reporting and accounting to those bodies rather than actually overseeing policing, security matters, and the leadership and direction of An Garda Síochána. An example, under the proposed Bill, is that An Garda Síochána would be accountable for inter-agency co-operation to the new policing and community safety authority, yet the other State agencies involved would be reporting to the new national community safety steering group, to which we will also report.

The Bill, as proposed, will effectively outsource many of those levers of control in key areas such as the budget, discipline, standards and policing operations from the Commissioner to different oversight bodies - in effect, the micromanagement and erosion of operational independence that the Commission strongly warned against. It also gives the replacement for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, more legal powers to conduct investigations into Garda personnel, including Garda staff, which gardaí investigating crime currently enjoy.

Investigations by the new GSOC could run on for long periods without any obligation for them to inform the Garda or employer about the nature of what they are being investigated for and whether it is criminal, misconduct or civil. This would appear to be in breach of an individual's human rights as well as being incredibly stressful for them. Furthermore, I as Garda Commissioner and the employer may not be made immediately aware of investigations related to serious matters. My management team and I have met with the Minister for Justice and senior Department officials to discuss our concerns, as detailed in our 75-page submission to the committee, and those discussions have been productive.

To conclude, the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing were necessary, timely, and have already benefited the people of this country in terms of the policing service provided. What we are asking is that the proposed Bill more accurately reflects the commission’s recommendations so An Garda Síochána can continue to operate ethically, efficiently, and effectively to keep the people safe.