Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The confidential reporting system under the Garda Síochána (Confidential Reporting of Corruption or Malpractice) Regulations 2007 commenced operation in June of this year. The Garda Commissioner has issued a confidential reporting charter to all sworn members and civilian staff of the Garda. The charter contains the contact details of the confidential recipients to whom confidential reports may be made. The people in question include the external confidential recipient, Mr. Brian McCarthy, the former Secretary General to the President, who was appointed by my predecessor. The other nine confidential recipients were appointed by the Garda Commissioner from within the Garda organisation.

I have been informed by Mr. McCarthy that, to date, he has been contacted in three cases by people within the Garda about their concerns. Mr. McCarthy's contact details have been supplied to all the people for whom his services are intended, namely sworn members and civilian employees of the Garda. His office is located in a building shared with other bodies operating under the aegis of my Department. It is not a public office and members of the public do not have access to his services. As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is the body to which members of the public may make reports about Garda behaviour. Its contact details and location are well advertised. The whistleblower regulations provide that the confidential recipient appointed by the Minister may be assisted by members of staff who are civil servants. In view of the likely volume of work anticipated in this area, staff have not been assigned full time to this role.

Staff have been assigned to be available to assist Mr. McCarthy on a part-time basis, as required. They do this in addition to their normal duties. The staff concerned are from my Department but are not from the main areas dealing with Garda matters. They are civil servants, subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, as well as the confidentiality provisions of the whistleblower regulations which require them to protect the identity of a person who makes a confidential report. I am satisfied that these arrangements are entirely appropriate and allow for the provision of the service in a secure, efficient and economic manner. The staff concerned are fully aware of the sensitivity of their role and the confidentiality requirements.

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