Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014 seeks to expand the power of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, which is responsible for receiving and dealing with complaints made by members of the public concerning the conduct of members of the Garda Síochána, including surveillance powers for their criminal investigations, and allows GSOC to investigate the Garda Commissioner with the consent of the Minister for Justice and Equality. It also provides for GSOC to instigate the examination of Garda practices and procedures and for the Garda Inspectorate to initiate inspections without the prior approval of the Minister for Justice and Equality.

The objective of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, as an independent statutory body, is to ensure the resources available to the Garda Síochána are used to achieve and maintain the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness and that it operates an administration as measured by reference to the best standard of comparable police services. In this context, GSOC will be in the same position as the Garda Síochána for the purpose of conducting a criminal investigation.

The Bill broadens the scope for the Minister to refer a matter to GSOC to include any matter that gives rise to concern that a member of An Garda Síochána may have committed an offence or behaved in a manner that may justify disciplinary procedures. It also directs the Garda Commissioner to ensure information requested by GSOC for the purposes of an investigation is provided as soon as practicable.

GSOC and its operations have been the subject of scrutiny and the body itself has pointed to its limitations under current legislation. Its relationship with An Garda Síochána has been the subject of media commentary and Oireachtas debate, with the Cooke report describing an atmosphere of frustration and tension in the relationship between GSOC personnel and the senior ranks of An Garda Síochána. Both organisations have stated they are working to improve the relationship. In 2013 GSOC received 2,027 complaints from members of the public, which was very close to the number received in the previous year, 2,089. The number of allegations of misconduct by gardaí in these complaints was 5,299. In addition, the Garda Commissioner referred 41 incidents to GSOC, eight of which involved fatalities. The four most common allegations in complaints made to GSOC in 2013 were abuse of authority, 34%; neglect of duty, 37%; non-fatal offences, 13%; and discourtesy, 11%.

I would like to raise awareness of the difficulties in my constituency. Areas such as Dundalk, Carlingford, Omeath, Dromad, Hackballscross and Blackrock are all under pressure from the ever-increasing risk of crime. Although crime figures have not risen compared to those for 2013, which in no small part is due to the work of local gardaí and the local community, I urge the Minister to increase the resources available to the Garda and local community groups. In my home town, Dundalk, we have a major drugs problem that is causing great distress to the local community. With additional resources, we could combat and eventually eradicate this serious problem. In my area there has been a reduction in personnel of 30 and a decrease of nine in the number of patrol cars. If we can work to increase resources, we will see a substantial reduction in the crime figures. I cannot praise the local community highly enough for its work in combating crime. A meeting in the Mullaghbuoy Community Centre in Cooley, organised by the local community, discussed how to reduce crime in the area, including raising awareness of the dangers posed by drugs and how to deal with drug pushers. Initiatives such as this, with the great work done by An Garda Síochána, are helping to reduce crime in the local community. These initiatives, with the commitment to increase the resources available, will help to combat crime in the community. I look forward to working with the Minister on these matters.

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