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

At the heart of this is a desire to ensure strong co-operation and co-ordination between An Garda Síochána and the new equivalent of GSOC, whatever title is conferred on it. The purpose of this consultation is to ensure that this new incident of concern process is operable and efficient. Section 204 provides that, having notified the police ombudsman of an incident of concern, the Garda Commissioner may still take lawful actions to prevent the commission of offences or breaches of professional standards of behaviour. This includes commencing or continuing a criminal investigation. This obviously prevents any delay while waiting for the ombudsman's decision as to what action should be taken next and avoids the risk of being unable to deal with a criminal matter in line with best practice. Where there is potential for a live investigation to be compromised, there needs to be clear and defined communication. That again goes back to what I said at the outset. There needs to be co-operation, co-ordination and communication between the Commissioner and the ombudsman.

I am advised that the current workload of GSOC predominantly comprises retrospective complaints. The introduction of incidents of concern will expand that workload to potentially include matters that require immediate investigation or that are already the subject of a live Garda investigation. In that regard, it is important that the police ombudsman and the Garda Commissioner develop effective processes to ensure that these concerns are addressed and dealt with consistently, effectively and efficiently. In that regard, protocols will be put in place to support these processes but, in light of the intention of the provision, this is necessary.

Regarding the broader process, I see no benefit in removing something that encourages and requires good communication between the two organisations. In this instance, it is the Commissioner who sees something wrong, perhaps a governance issue or another matter of concern, and who then raises it with the ombudsman. It is the Commissioner making the observation in the first instance. I see no harm or difficulty in ensuring that there is continuous engagement to ensure there is no duplication and to ensure that the two bodies are working with each other, rather than in parallel, in that regard.

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