Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister looks forward to the results of reports. This is the famous report he refers to, the independent review which was carried out and was published on 11 July 2014. It referred to the commitment and dedication of the staff in the Department of Justice and Equality. However, it went on to highlight how they had been systematically run down and how the Department was suffering from a serious lack of corporate experience due to retirements and not taking on new staff. Most importantly, the report identified five key recommendations out of a total of eight. It commented that the Department of Justice and Equality's officials were far too deferential to An Garda Síochána. The report specifically gave timelines of three months, 12 months and two years. The review group made a very important offer. It said that it was prepared to meet twice yearly, if the Minister agreed, over the subsequent two years to monitor progress. Did the Minister read the report? Did he accept the offer of a review? Which of the recommendations contained in this independent review have been acted on?

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