Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What we are trying to legislate for here are potential unforeseen circumstances. We are trying not to be prescriptive in what the Commissioner may or may not deem as being necessary or relevant, and in what the Commissioner might feel is important to relate to the Minister of the day. This is the case with a lot of legislation, where we try not to be prescriptive because we do not know the scenarios or situations that may arise which are not covered. As Minister I do not want a situation to arise, particularly an emergency, where the Commissioner then has to refer to a set of rules to try to identify whether something fits to a particular section, subsection or category whereby he or she is allowed to engage with the Minister.

A lot of trust is placed in the Garda Commissioner in the legislation. It is important that we trust the person who is at the head of our policing service. I also believe there are a lot of checks and balances and oversight in the Bill. The Commissioner might say there is too much in terms of the role and the way in which the Commissioner must engage with the board and the authority. There will be an individual responsible for dealing with security. There will be the new GSOC, whatever title it will have. There will be a great deal of oversight in making sure the Commissioner carries out their functions to the best of their ability.

There is also professional discretion that must apply. We must not constrain what the Commissioner may or may not say if they feel it is appropriate and something the Minister must be made aware of. There were a lot of insinuations and assertions in what Deputy McNamara has suggested. I suggest that bad case do not make good law. We need to make sure the Commissioner's hands are not tied if they feel there is a matter of security or importance that must be brought to the Minister's attention. I do not think that by setting these parameters we could predict that they would cover all possible scenarios.

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