Mr. John Devitt:

I thank the Chairman and the committee for their invitation to address them. I am joined by Susheela Math who is Transparency International Ireland’s legal counsellor and manages our Speak Up helpline. We have been operating a free telephone helpline for whistleblowers since 2011. It is part funded by the European Commission. So far, we have worked with approximately 400 clients, including Garda John Wilson and Sergeant Maurice McCabe who used the helpline in 2012. We offer advice, referral and information to whistleblowers and witnesses of economic crime and other forms of abuse of authority. Our submission is largely informed by our engagement with the two whistleblowers mentioned and other whistleblowers who have approached us for advice. We have also undertaken systematic reviews, with the support of the Department of Justice and Equality in 2009, of the governance of public bodies. They included a national integrity system study and an addendum study in 2012 which I will be happy to share with committee members after the meeting.

In summary, Transparency International Ireland welcomes the Government’s intention to establish an independent Garda authority. We also welcome its promise to reform Garda oversight measures and recommend that the Minister’s current powers under the 2005 Act be transferred to the new Garda authority, particularly in respect of the appointment of senior members of An Garda Síochána and investigation and oversight of the Garda Commissioner. This change would go some way towards placing some distance between the Garda and the Department of Justice and Equality and address the risk of political interference in policing.

We also believe members of An Garda Síochána should be able to make reports, under section 62(4) of the Garda Síochána Act, directly to the Garda ombudsman, without fear of disciplinary action. In my notes to the committee I failed to mention, as we did in our submission, that under the Garda Act and the regulations, specific offences and penalties should be specified in the regulations for intimidation or harassment of gardaí who reported concerns in compliance with the Garda Act and the protected disclosures legislation which is due to be taken in the House later today.

We believe the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission should be able to access the PULSE database and investigate reports made under Regulation 7(2) of the Garda Síochána (Confidential Reporting of Corruption or Malpractice) Regulations 2007 against the Garda Commissioner. If the Garda Inspectorate is to be retained, it should be able to commission its own inspections and inquiries where it believes it is in the public interest to do so.

We recommend that the post of confidential recipient be retained and enhanced, with an open recruitment process, and that consideration be given to the establishment of an office of confidential recipient, with adequate civilian support, to enable professional advice and support to be given to Garda whistleblowers before and after disclosing concerns.

We are happy to answer questions and to go into further detail on matters raised in our submission.