Results 1-20 of 30 for gsoc segment:8172502

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

.... The Bill raises serious concerns about the constitutional, privacy, human and other rights of the members we represent. There is a clear absence of fair procedure evident in the new powers proposed for GSOC. The association has had serious issues with GSOC and some of the investigations it has carried out on our members. The extended powers it is proposed to give GSOC seem to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

James Lawless: I am sorry to interrupt Ms Cunningham. Unfortunately, there are time limits on opening statements, even if there are not on GSOC. I see from the opening statement that was submitted by the AGSI that Ms Cunningham has another two pages to go. If she wants to wrap up then she can come back in at length over the course of the meeting. She might conclude if that is okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Ms Antoinette Cunningham: I will come back to GSOC later if I have an opportunity. We feel that the Bill in its current draft creates more difficulties than reforms for An Garda Síochána and that it should be redrafted.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Robbie Gallagher: ...also want to come in, they should please feel free. Ms Cunningham, representing the AGSI, covered a wide range of issues and kind of zoned in on the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC. Perhaps she might expand on her members' concerns with regard to GSOC and where she sees that fitting into this proposed legislation. What does she or what do her members feel would be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Mr. Seamus Nolan: I thank the Chairman and Senator Gallagher for this opportunity. We have many concerns in relation to the GSOC proposals, which I am going to summarise because there are so many. I do not want to eat into all of the Senator's time. If we start with head 170(1), we have been severely criticised as an organisation with regard to the issuing of search warrants, which was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Martin Kenny: ...view is it is to allow people who work closely with members of An Garda Síochána in Garda stations and who perhaps would have access to privileged information and so forth also to come under the remit of GSOC. I imagine that is one of the reasons for this. Does Fórsa see any other way in which that can be resolved apart from outside of the proposal in the legislation? I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

...we have been making progress in regard to civilianisation in An Garda Síochána, albeit slow progress. We have been critical of this draft Bill because we believe it overextends the power of GSOC in respect of the civilian members we represent. The Deputy asked if there are other arrangements that may suffice. We have tried to make clear in our opening statement and in our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

...own internal disciplinary regulations and investigations, processes and procedures that flow from a complaint being made. Our members are subjected to civil avenues as well. As we outlined today, GSOC is a very elaborate and sophisticated option that is available. Increasingly, our members are being subjected to another distasteful form of scrutiny by members of the public, that is,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Niamh Smyth: ...are under investigation for a crime would enjoy better protections than rank and file gardaí or the force if under investigation under the proposed new body? My second question is in regard to GSOC and has already been alluded to. Does anybody know why the GSOC process in terms of the outcome of cases takes so long? Is there a breach of the right to fair trial around this? As...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

...this Bill. We only became aware of it when we discovered it on the Internet. There has been no consultation, which is regrettable because we feel we would have had something to offer. As regards GSOC, there is, it seems, no accountability by GSOC to anybody. It can continue its investigations for years. In some situations, members have been left in a limbo state for years, there has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

...Cunningham: Yes. This is one of the real concerns we have when talking about fairness. Every citizen is entitled to fair procedure and natural justice. The expanded powers and remit of GSOC will now allow it to go unsupervised and unquestioned about what is considered a reasonable investigation. GSOC can start an investigation on an incident of concern without notifying the member...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Ms Antoinette Cunningham: The Bill does not state at what point. It states GSOC can open the investigation, notwithstanding it may not know the identity of the member. Once that member is identified, the Bill does not specify how or when the member should be notified. These are the problems we see in the Bill. This is a lack of natural justice. If a person is the subject of a complaint...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

...member in the past three weeks who has been suspended for more than a year. He is unsure as to the reason for his suspension. It is not unusual for a Garda member to be suspended subject to a GSOC process and to hear nothing for years, with no communication or contact from GSOC. That is unacceptable. On the other question as to why GSOC takes so long; I have no idea. That is why we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

James Lawless: When Ms Barry refers to Garda oversight organisations, does that mean GSOC or who does that mean?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Ms Anne Barry: I mean GSOC, the Policing Authority, and the Garda Inspectorate. It is important to bear in mind also that the Bill seeks to implement the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. That body engaged extensively with Garda members, consulted Garda associations and unions, and conducted extensive public consultations and so on to inform the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Barry Ward: ..., but could we explore a bit more the issues of natural justice that have been outlined? Two things were said that I am concerned about. First, on the issue that a garda can be investigated by GSOC without being on notice of that, I do not necessarily see that as a problem. On the other things that have been said about a garda being suspended while he or she does not know why, that is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

...tried to find out precisely why they have been suspended as well as precisely what the charge is they are required to answer. Second, as I mentioned earlier, there seems to be a problem with GSOC moving through the procedures at a reasonable speed. Recently, I have supported members who have been suspended for more than one year with zero communication and zero contact from GSOC. That...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Barry Ward: I agree. However, if a garda has been under investigation by GSOC for a period and does not know it, that in and of itself is not a problem. Would Mr. McAnenly disagree with me?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

...a criminal matter, that person will be spoken to. However, before that person is asked any questions or has to supply any answers, he or she is given a legal caution. What is happening here is GSOC has categorised something as a formal investigation without specifying whether it is criminal or disciplinary. It has then added a section that says a garda have to account to a member in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill: Discussion (15 Feb 2022)

Patrick Costello: ...of power and authority over other citizens and the same level of responsibility. As such, oversight is entirely appropriate. On the first day of these hearings many questions were raised around GSOC as it is and would be after enactment of the legislation. It is important that we get this element of the Bill right. It is not just about the rights of those against whom complaints have...