Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy said, we have had an opportunity to discuss the Guerin report in the House and consider some of the wide range of issues addressed. These issues are complex and deep-rooted, ranging from high level issues such as oversight, change management and the role of whistleblowers to local administration and internal communication, as well as matters of basic policing, performance and human resources.

I have been reviewing the conclusions and recommendations made in the report. The Government agreed to a set of measures in response to the report. We are establishing a further commission of investigation as recommended in it. This will be an independent inquiry headed by a senior judge. On foot of the publication two weeks ago of the Cooke report, the Government will now proceed to finalise the terms of reference of the commission which will generally be in line with those recommend by Mr. Guerin in his report. He made a number of recommendations, particularly with regard to the cases that merited further inquiry. I intend to put a resolution to the House to establish the commission during this Dáil term.

I have already stated in the House that I have asked for an independent expert review of the performance, management and administration of the Department of Justice and Equality. The review group, chaired by Mr. Kevin Toland, began this work in recent weeks and I look forward to receiving its report in July. The Garda Inspectorate has been asked to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into Garda management and the wide range of operational issues addressed by Mr. Guerin following his examination of various cases.

Amendments have been made to the Protected Disclosures Bill to enable GSOC to be prescribed under the Bill as a body to which Garda whistleblowers may report concerns. New legislation will be introduced shortly to strengthen GSOC. The comprehensive programme of initiatives and reforms I have outlined deal with many of the recommendations made in the Guerin report.

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