Mr. Simon O'Brien:

Within our proposals we believe that the current protocols under 108 should be underpinned by statute. We are saying that there might be a sanction underpinning that statutory backup, or it could be stated in the major part of the legislation, as with other things, that the word "shall" is used. We can use the word "shall" in relation to that without necessarily dealing with what would occur if that did not happen. We are seeing a greater level of timeliness in the transfer of information, which is welcome. That accounting mechanism has only been in place this year, so we will look at that.

As regards the investigations that are outstanding with the Garda Síochána, we still have problems. Under the new protocols, we have extended the issues from a 12 week to a 16 or 20 week period depending on what sort of investigation it is. I would say that most investigations now go past the year mark, so there must be change in that. We can see some problems the Garda Síochána has in that regard. If one looks at the broad tenet of our proposals, we believe we would be empowered to take on a lot of those disciplinary investigations ourselves. In fact, we could take them all on if this is where the Houses go. Alternatively, we could change the way we interact with the Garda.

We believe that is an emboldened step for us. I have heard the acting Garda Commissioner and the new Minister for Justice and Equality say that they are looking for a sea change and we would welcome that. If one looks at the activity and attention that an organisation such as the Garda Síochána should put into the investigation of complaints, and its co-operation with us as an oversight agency, I think that is going to be part of the sea change.