Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Briefly, on the point regarding the delay and the time it takes to complete a GSOC investigation, my understanding is that in most cases GSOC will second somebody from An Garda Síochána from a different division or district to assist with an investigation. I get the impression, and I think this would be shared by most public representatives who would engage in this respect at different times, that many of the delays are in that regard. Considerable time is spent finding somebody to assist with an investigation, they can be slow in investigating and that investigation can continue for quite a period of time. There are also confidentiality issues around that. We had a discussion at the committee about people being investigated who knew they were being investigated. My understanding is that often when it would not be appropriate for a person to know he or she was being investigated, the person knew about the investigation much too soon. There are issues in that respect that need to be dealt with. Reform of GSOC and oversight of it, as Senator MacDowell mentioned, are vital in respect of all that.

I take the point that GSOC has quite a large budget and a large staff and there is the matter of what is going on there. That point is not lost on any of us. We have all engaged with Mary Ellen Ring, who was chairperson of GSOC for many years. She was very approachable and it was easy to have a conversation with her on all these issues. She was always adamant that at the very top of the organisation they were doing everything they possibly could to make things happen faster and to progress things as quickly as they could, but they found great difficulty in getting the co-operation they required. That brings us to where we are today. We need to change all that. We all must be up for that change. We must all work together to do it. It is in the interests of all the organisations represented here and all their members that trust and confidence are restored in the processes that are in place.