Mr. Kieran Fitzgerald:

They are very difficult on a practical level. I notice that when the Senator asked her question, she seemed to restrict it to senior members of the Garda Síochána. With regard to what we call service issues, at a lower level entirely than what the Senator is talking about, it is equally important. At times, people are looking for a service from the Garda Síochána and if it is lacking, the reason may be because of a lack of supervision and management. We find ourselves in the position of having to apportion blame to one or two young gardaí but at times that does not seem the optimum solution, either for the exercise of policing or certainly for the complainant. The complainant did not ask us to punish somebody, but asked for their phone calls to be returned, a squad car to be dispatched, or their passport to be returned. I think that a refocusing along the lines the Senator mentioned is very important.

At the more senior level, we do make and have made recommendations about management and systemic issues that arise from our complaints. At the senior level, we would not necessarily be able to find many senior gardaí in breach of discipline or to sanction them for neglect in that manner.

It is very difficult to establish and prove that to an evidential standard. Our annual report - soon to be published - contains many recommendations on identified systemic issues of a training, management or supervisory nature that need to be addressed falling out of our investigations. That is a very important element of our remit. It is something we are working actively to expand upon. We point it out to change culture rather than to punish.