Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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111. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress that has been made to date as regards filling the post vacated by the former chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in January 2015; the process she is following for this appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19526/15]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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My question concerns the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission which is clearly struggling to represent Garda whistleblowers. We are concerned because it would appear that since the departure of Mr. Simon O'Brien things have become even more difficult and disappointing. Can the Minister explain why it is taking so long to replace Mr. O'Brien? I understand that under section 65 of the relevant legislation, a political appointment of the GSOC commissioners is permitted. Has the Minister considered changing that operation to make it an independent one?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that on 15 May, my Department placed an advertisement seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified individuals for appointment as chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. The advertisement can be viewed on the Department's website and the website of the Public Appointments Service. The closing date for the receipt of expressions of interest is 29 May. Selection for consideration will be based on an examination of expressions of interest received. I will establish an independent panel to advise me on which applicants are best qualified, following which I will present suitable names for consideration by Government.

Under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Government must be satisfied that a person nominated for this position has the appropriate experience, qualifications, training or expertise for appointment, having regard to the functions of GSOC. As the Deputy is be aware, under the Act the nomination is also subject to the passage of resolutions by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann recommending the appointment. The appointment is then made by the President.

I should point out that the Act provides for a situation where a member of GSOC has resigned his or her position and permits GSOC to act notwithstanding the vacancy, as the Deputy knows. The person who will be appointed as chairperson of GSOC will, under the Act, serve out Mr. O'Brien's term of office, which will expire on 12 December 2016. More generally, it is vital that the public has confidence in the Garda Síochána and the system of oversight, as I have often said. We are implementing a comprehensive programme of reform in the areas of policing and justice. As part of the programme of change, the Garda Síochána (Amendment) Act 2015, which is fully in force, strengthens and clarifies the remit and capacity of GSOC, and I will keep under review the case for further change.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The Minister would agree that if a garda makes a complaint in September and he still has not been interviewed by May the following year, there is a problem. If a Garda makes a complaint in November and has not even got a reply by May the following year, there is a problem. GSOC is still not fit for purpose and it is not doing the job it is supposed to; it is not able to do it. It is going to require more funding. I know there were some improvements in the Minister's Bill but that probably represented approximately 10% of what international experts had advised us to put in our police Bill last year. Sadly, GSOC is still not in a place really to hold An Garda Síochána to account. There are Garda whistleblowers waiting six and eight months for cases to be dealt with while the same junior gardaí are at the mercy of senior gardaí who did not like the fact that nasty evidence was being brought to the table. Those junior gardaí are being badly treated. Will the Minister have another look at GSOC's powers and its resources?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As I recently told the Deputy, GSOC received an extra €1 million in funding and it has also been exempted from the moratorium that applies to recruitment. It has now taken on extra staff and a small number of vacancies are currently being filled. The annual report was published fairly recently and it is clearly dealing with a large volume of work. I am in regular contact with GSOC personnel and I have meetings with the commissioners. They are getting on with the work. If the Deputy has details of particular cases that he would like to forward to me, although I do not get involved in individual details, I can examine the reason for delays.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Will the Minister consider bringing in GSOC personnel to have a chat with them? She could ask them if they are adequately resourced and if there is enough power to deal with the challenges faced by GSOC. One of the whistleblowers I mentioned since making his complaint over a year ago has had five internal investigations against him. The person he complained about has not even been suspended. One could not make this up. There is something seriously amiss in this regard.

As I have previously said, I honestly believe the Minister is not being kept properly informed. She would deal positively with such issues if kept informed. She should bring in GSOC personnel and ask them if there are enough financial resources to deal with all these problems. She should ask if they would like more power to carry out this very challenging task.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I will repeat the fact that extra resources and staffing have been made available. Clearly, hardly a body in the country would not say "Yes" when asked if it needed more resources. I have to be satisfied that GSOC, with the resources and staff that it has, can do the work being referred to it.

As I have said, I have met with GSOC a number of times since I became Minister and have been discussing the work with its representatives on an ongoing basis, as I have with the Garda Commissioner. I have been looking at the relationship between the two bodies and the need to put robust mechanisms in place. One of the issues I would like to see resolved and which would make quite a difference to the volume of work would be to agree a mechanism for the resolution of more informal complaints. If I call them "lesser complaints", it is not to say that not every complaint should be dealt with seriously. It would be helpful if everybody involved could agree to a mechanism for some of the complaints which could be dealt with more informally. That does not exist which means everyone is involved in a great deal of investigation which takes up a great deal of time. It is not to say that proper complaints should not be investigated fully to note that there is scope in this area. I have had discussions with the Garda Commissioner, GSOC and the representative bodies on this and we are looking at a number of initiatives which could deal with the matter and be helpful in terms of the resource issues mentioned.