Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

Incidentally, the former Minister told us we were a disgrace when we raised the points that were subsequently vindicated. I too can think of many instances where an offence might be alleged against the Commissioner that needed to be investigated and a Minister would not consent. Picture the scene - a Garda whistleblower goes to the Minister, says that senior gardaí are involved in, for example, the drugs trade, entrapping people and supplying drugs in a particular area. The Minister goes to the Commissioner who gives an assurance that there is nothing to see and further wrongdoing is perpetrated afterwards. When the Commissioner is called to account for her actions she can legitimately say she discussed it with the Minister and the Minister agreed with her. Suddenly the Minister’s interests and the Commissioner’s interests are intrinsically linked and a proper independent scrutiny is prohibited because of that ministerial block.

When the heads of this Bill were announced there was a huge welcome for the headline that GSOC would be given the power to investigate the Commissioner, that it would be independent and autonomous. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties and many of the other human rights organisations welcomed the move. Then we saw the caveat, "only on our terms", which gave the matter a different flavour. This means the Commissioner can be seen as a creature of the Minister. The political appointment of the new Commissioner does not help that situation. The Minister has talked about a new regime inside An Garda Síochána and there is certainly a lot of talk about it but those at the top of An Garda Síochána are exactly the same as those who were there a year ago under Commissioner Callinan. There needs to be a more radical change. The Commissioner needs to be accountable to GSOC in a totally independent way.

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