Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 8, lines 7 and 8, to delete “shall, upon the nomination of the Authority, be made by the Government” and substitute “shall be made by the Authority”.

Amendments Nos. 4 to 45, inclusive, are in line with the need for the authority to be truly independent. The Minister should not be permitted to appoint the Garda Commissioner or Deputy Garda Commissioner. The role of the authority under this Bill in recommending the appointment is not strong enough. Sinn Féin would amend the legislation in this regard to allow for the authority to appoint the Garda Commissioner and Deputy Garda Commissioner directly. If the Garda Commissioner is to be accountable to the authority, then the authority needs to have effective powers and mechanisms to oversee the appointment and removal of the Garda Commissioner. The same must be true for the removal of senior rank officers. There is a need for the authority to have the power to appoint directly and remove ranks from superintendent up. Sinn Féin is seeking to amend the Bill to provide for this.

In the Bill it is specifically stated the Minister is responsible for security matters. If so, there is no reason for the Minister also to have the power to initiate and oversee inquiries into policing matters. This is a role for the authority alone, and we seek to amend this Bill to give this power to the authority.