Results 10,681-10,700 of 20,099 for speaker:Brian Stanley
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: I thank Mr. Justice MacCabe. I call Deputy McAuliffe.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: We will take a break and resume at 11.10 a.m.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: Regarding case management and complaints, according to the figures supplied by GSOC, I see that 485 criminal investigations were opened in 2019, 572 were opened in 2020 and 557 were opened in 2021. A total of 658 disciplinary investigations were opened in 2019 while 752 were opened in 2021. GSOC corresponded with the committee last year and sent us figures for 2020 last July. If we look at...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: I do not expect Mr. Hume to be able to give the figures for last year but for 2019 and 2020, out of the criminal investigations opened, how many of the 485 investigations opened in 2019 went to trial? Are there any such figures for the 572 in 2020? When I saw the figure of 572 last July after GSOC sent us that letter, I was really taken aback. The figure flattened off last year at 557 but...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: Sixty?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: Was that on the discipline one or the criminal one?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: This was under the disciplinary one.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: Who determines when cases are criminal? Who makes that decision?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: The number of complaints opened increased by 12% from 2020 to 2021 while it was an 11% increase on the previous year so there has been a substantial increase. Regarding the allegations in complaints, from 2020 to 2021, that figure increased by 22%, according to GSOC's briefing information. The allegations in the complaints increased year on year between 2020 and 2021 by 22%.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: I raised it with the Garda Commissioner last week. I understand that there may be vexatious and false complaints. Obviously because gardaí deal with confrontations and public order, that can happen. Have there been investigations where the Garda Commissioner has rejected the outcome?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: It is generally accepted by An Garda Síochána. That is good. I do not expect the witnesses from GSOC to comment on the Garda dispute because it is outside their remit but in terms of its effect on the work of GSOC, on 20 March 2022, a total of 355 cases were referred to An Garda Síochána - this is from GSOC's briefing - under section 94(1), that is, unsupervised. There...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: I take on board the point the Commissioner made. As matters roll on, year on year, if the number that is there now is reflective of the increase in numbers year on year and there have been seven months in between - there has been a seven-month delay - these 143 extra cases would be indicative of the net effect of the dispute. It is the only real indication we have, is it not?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: That is a matter for the Garda. I refer to the pay in relation to investigation work it is doing on cases with GSOC. The figures I have show that in December 2020 there were 32 investigating officers and eight assistant investigating officers. In other words, in December 2020 the Commissioner would have had 40 investigating officers or thereabouts, is that correct?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: The Commissioner mentioned that seven of the staff who do the investigations are retired gardaí.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: Just to better understand, I am trying to get a picture of the organisation of GSOC. Who would the other 33 be? What qualification-----
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: "Swim by swimming," as the Mao Zedong quote goes. Anyway, they would not all be retired police or have a policing background.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: That is interesting.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: Okay. GSOC is very much dependent on the co-operation of the Garda. I do not want to go back into the case because the GSOC representatives went through it at length with Deputy Carthy, but because GSOC depends on that level of co-operation and assistance from An Garda Síochána, it would seem that it is possible in some cases for the hands of its staff to be tied. In other words,...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: I know Mr. Justice MacCabe has to be careful. I take it from what he has said about cultural change that until reasonably recently - perhaps two or three years ago - there were difficulties getting that level of co-operation. Most observers would concur with his suggestion that a cultural shift is happening. Perhaps up to the fairly recent past, there would have been many difficulties.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) Brian Stanley: Finally, on the new legislation, Mr. Justice MacCabe said in his opening statement that some of the challenges faced by GSOC arise from the mandate under which it operates, but this is likely to change in the shape of the new broad reforms to be proposed in the policing, security and community safety Bill. It was outlined earlier that the Commissioner has described the new proposals as...