Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said a number of times before any of these controversies arose, my judgment was that the office of confidential recipient did not work. I concluded, having been Minister for some time, that it was not appropriate that these matters are dealt with in this way. It was unsatisfactory. I brought a proposal to the Cabinet that the Bill brought forward by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, be amended, which it will be on Committee Stage. It will require some modifications to what is already in the Bill to ensure that members of An Garda Síochána can bring complaints directly to GSOC. Of course, it will take some weeks for that Bill to be enacted. It has been passed by the Seanad but it must go through Committee Stage in this House and any amendments made by this House must go back to the Seanad. It will be some weeks but I was concerned to ensure there will not be an enormous gap.

One cannot instantly appoint a replacement. The view I expressed, and with which my Cabinet colleagues agreed, was that we should appoint a retired judge. I will consider the individual in consultation with the Attorney General. We must go through the consultative process that I described. As soon as that is completed, either by next week or hopefully the following week at the latest, there will be a new confidential recipient appointed. The confidential recipient will be in place on an interim basis pending the relevant part of the Minister, Deputy Howlin's, legislation becoming operative, which I hope will happen with some speed. We are dependent on the legislative process for that and on the work required in finalising the amendments that are necessary in the Bill.

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