Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 7 April 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

9:30 am

Photo of James O'ConnorJames O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is odd. Those numbers sound quite low. I am not being overly critical. The commission has its own in-house legal team. From an external point of view, however, 127 staff sounds a small complement for an organisation that is charged with oversight of the Garda.

The Garda Commissioner was before the committee last week and a number of important issues were raised with him. Respecting the separation between the Garda and GSOC arose. "Without referring to any specific case, there is a degree of concern about the culture of leaking within the Garda. There seem to be a consistent issue with leaking within the organisation. What work has GSOC undertaken to try to bring about reform and change in order to deal with that issue? It is causing concern for GSOC. There are a number of investigations under way. I am not asking our guests to comment on those cases but I am asking them to comment on the culture of leaking confidential information, relating particularly to PULSE files. Is GSOC doing anything to actively shut that down and maintain people's data privacy?