Ms Emily Logan:

There are two things that stand out and that have been in the political domain. First is the pathway of the complaints and the legislation will simplify that. We have to make a decision when a complaint comes in on whether it is a civil or a criminal matter. Let us take, for instance, Mr. Hume's comments on a criminal matter. We undertake an investigation, we make a decision as a commission and it goes to the DPP. The DPP returns it to us, we have to wait for that decision about whether to prosecute and only then can we sequence a disciplinary investigation if it is required. The Deputy can see how extended that pathway and investigation are. The new legislation allows us to examine and make that decision at a different stage. It means that people on the receiving end of it, who are members of the Garda, are not in a situation where they are immediately under criminal investigation, which is significant. The second difference is in search warrants.