Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The perceived advantage of a separate authority is that it interposes an additional layer of independent accountability between the political process and the management of the Garda Síochána. The idea of such an authority makes perfectly good sense in the context of the UK regional police structure where there is no corresponding regional democratic unit, and in Northern Ireland, where there were and still continue to be unique requirements associated with the need for confidence building in a cross-community environment.

One important point about the Northern Ireland policing board which is often overlooked by persons who suggest a similar authority for the Garda Síochána is that the Patten Commission recommended a majority of members of the board be elected politicians in Northern Ireland. It is not an independent policing authority in any conventional sense, but is, in its majority, a representative, political group with a minority of non-political people on it. Therefore, when people here suggest we get rid of ministerial accountability and do what was done in Northern Ireland, nobody is suggesting that Deputies should constitute a majority on an independent policing authority. I do not think it would be appropriate they should.

Second, we do not have an example anywhere in the world of a national police service being subject to an independent authority. This just does not happen in the common law world. For example, the Met in London is directly responsible to the Home Secretary and to Parliament and the same applies to the RCMP.

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