Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

The Minister is opposed to this amendment for the reasons he outlined last Friday during the debate on a similar subject arising from amendment No. 94, which concerned section 60. The Minister stated that, in the context of a criminal proceeding, the role of the ombudsman commission is purely investigatory in nature and that it would be wrong for it to have a prosecution role in addition to its investigatory function in establishing facts. He stated:

We are taking away from investigating gardaí the general right to prosecute independently of the DPP. It would be strange to make gardaí second-class citizens in that they alone would be subject to criminal charges without independent intervention and supervision of the DPP.

The Minister has no doubt that the representative associations would be very concerned if the DPP's independent, supervisory role were suspended in the case of the Garda Síochána.