Results 1-14 of 14 for gsoc speaker:James O'Connor
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022 - Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (8 Feb 2024)
James O'Connor: I thank the Chairman and welcome everybody. The particular of facet of interest for me with GSOC rotates around the increase in the number of disciplinary investigations into members of An Garda Síochána. There are two facets to this and some of this has been discussed this morning. The first element is that some of these are handled by An Garda Síochána internally....
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022 - Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (8 Feb 2024)
James O'Connor: It is internal. Does GSOC do its own internal checks for inbound new staff who are being vetted?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022 - Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (8 Feb 2024)
James O'Connor: I want to ask what is, from my perspective, a genuinely interesting question which is worth asking. Those working in GSOC are dealing with critically sensitive information involving a range of issues around enforcement in the Garda. Do the witnesses believe the current system as it stands is fit for purpose? Does it need to be improved, in terms of whether we do background checks on people...
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022 - Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (8 Feb 2024)
James O'Connor: I will return to the original line of questioning. I thank Mr. Whelan for his response and the information he provided. In light of the need for additional resources, has GSOC had a conversation with the Department of Justice?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022 - Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (8 Feb 2024)
James O'Connor: ...to be as high as they are. Members who are under investigation are put under strain and stress. As I said, it is about differentiating between right and wrong and I accept the need for the work GSOC does. However, when a considerable number of gardaí are leaving the force, for financial and other reasons, delays should be a big item of concern, as I assume they are. We are concerned.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) James O'Connor: .... I welcome the members of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission before the Committee of Public Accounts today. I want to develop a better understanding of the work they all do. Obviously, GSOC is a statutory independent body that is charged with overseeing the Garda, but when it comes to dealing with complaints, does GSOC have any capacity to investigate activity within the...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) James O'Connor: It is fascinating when looking at GSOC accounts to see the amount of money that is spent on staffing proportional to the operations of GSOC as an organisation. When it comes to the costings of undertaking the work GSOC is supposed to be doing, is there an issue of parity when it comes to that? Looking at the charts available to the Committee of Public Accounts, a very significant portion,...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) James O'Connor: I will just ask the question again, to be direct about it. Essentially, if GSOC is undertaking a major investigation into wrongdoing in the Garda, obviously this would entail substantial legal costs. Are these included in the figures provided for the staff costs of the organisation? That is a direct "Yes" or "No" answer.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) James O'Connor: Was that €79,000 for the entirety of GSOC's legal budget?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) James O'Connor: ...with oversight of the Garda. The Garda Commissioner was before the committee last week and a number of important issues were raised with him. Respecting the separation between the Garda and GSOC arose. "Without referring to any specific case, there is a degree of concern about the culture of leaking within the Garda. There seem to be a consistent issue with leaking within the...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) James O'Connor: I will turn to the efficiency of the work that is undertaken by GSOC, which is highly complex. Many of the cases undertaken by GSOC are extremely controversial. Is there anything that can be done to address the length of time it takes to investigate controversial cases? An investigation in Templemore has been going on for five years, which is an awfully long period. It is difficult to...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022) James O'Connor: I completely respect that. It is uppermost in all of our considerations. How much of a backlog of investigations has GSOC at the moment? Is there an issue in terms of investigations that have been held up?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (31 Mar 2022) James O'Connor: ...Garda Síochána, there appears to be serious discrepancies depending on the level of controversy in some investigations. In particular, I would mention that the committee has been waiting for the GSOC investigation into the Garda training college. That has been going on for over five years. Is there any degree of clarity or closure coming to that? What progress has been made in...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (31 Mar 2022) James O'Connor: ...a degree of concern in that regard. I ask the Commissioner to evaluate that and perhaps include a review on the matter among those being undertaken, of which there are many between An Garda Síochána and GSOC at the moment. Perhaps it might be prudent for that to happen. I would like to clarify the response to a question I asked the Commissioner earlier on. He did provide...