Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Yes, if he is so requested. The legislation does not make it compulsory for the Garda Commissioner to appear. It puts no requirement on him to attend. We would expect the Commissioner to attend if and when requested, but the legislation does not give a specific role to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights in terms of an oversight function regarding the operation of the Commissioner, the Minister or the Department. I would like the Minster to come back on that issue. He might consider an amendment which would give the committee the power referred to.

The fatal flaw in the legislation is that nobody is responsible. Even if the committee had an oversight function, which it has in a general sense, it has so much else to do that it cannot have a day-to-day, week-to-week or month-to-month oversight function.

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