Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

As the Acting Chairman knows, the Act provides that complaints can be made by a member of the public who is directly affected by or witnesses the conduct. It is not just anybody. One has either to have had direct personal knowledge of the incident, or to have witnessed it, to comply. Section 94(4) provides that the ombudsman commission may, if it appears desirable in the public interest to do so and without receiving a complaint, investigate any matter that appears to it to indicate that a member of the Garda Síochána may have committed an offence, or behaved in a manner which would justify disciplinary proceedings. How would the ombudsman commission come to such a conclusion? Obviously, it would have to receive information in some way which did not amount to a formal complaint. I have no doubt that if, for instance, a garda witnessed another member of the force beating up a number of people and for some reason the victims felt so intimidated as not to proceed with their complaint, that such a matter could be drawn to the attention of the commission. The commission could consider the issue under section 94 to see whether it was an appropriate case on which to act.