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

I move amendment No. 48:

In page 194, line 33, to delete “the Police Ombudsman” and substitute “the Office of the Police Ombudsman”.

Section 221 provides for a judge-led inquiry into the conduct of the police ombudsman, the deputy police ombudsman, and the officers of the police ombudsman, and-or the policies, practices and procedures of the police ombudsman on a single occasion, or generally, with regard to the investigation under Part 6. Amendment No. 48 proposes to delete the reference to the police ombudsman in section 221(1)(b), and replace it with a reference to the office of the police ombudsman. This creates a necessary distinction between an inquiry into the conduct of the officeholder, which is captured under section 221(1)(a), and the policies, practices or procedures of the office of the police ombudsman itself, which is intended to be captured under section 221(1)(b).

Amendments Nos. 49 and 50 relate to the report prepared by the appointed judge following the completion of this inquiry. On completing the inquiry, the appointed judge is required to submit a report of his or her findings on any recommendations to the Minister for Justice. The Minister is required to forward a copy of this report to the police ombudsman for any action the police ombudsman considers appropriate. However, under paragraph (a) of subsection (1), the conduct of the ombudsman may be the subject of an inquiry. The purpose of amendment 50 is to insert a new subsection, which has the effect of removing the obligation on the Minister to forward the report to the police ombudsman, obviously in circumstances where the police ombudsman is actually the subject of the inquiry. Instead, the Minister may use his or her discretion as to whether such a referral would be appropriate, depending on the content of the report. Amendment No. 49 is, therefore, a consequential requirement relating to the previous amendment, and it inserts a necessary cross-reference to the proposed new subsection.

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