Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 8 February 2024

Public Accounts Committee

Financial Statements 2022 - Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

9:30 am

Mr. Peter Whelan:

The single investigative process will be hugely significant. We do not have the power to do a single investigation at the moment. We have to finish at criminal and then go to disciplinary. It will change our whole way of operating if we can go to a single investigation process. At some stage, because of the way evidence is gathered, we will have to decide if a case is criminal, disciplinary or both and then have to gather evidence in the appropriate manner.

The incidents of concern will make a huge difference to us. There are a few other big items in there that will make a difference to us. We have now built in a review process for inadmissible decisions and the discontinuance of investigations. Now, anybody can come in and say they want the decision reviewed that their complaint was inadmissible or that they want a review if we have closed an investigation. We do not have either of those processes in place at the moment and that is something new that will happen.

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