Seanad debates

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages

 

Photo of Trevor Ó ClochartaighTrevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 63:

In page 21, to delete lines 2 to 25 and substitute the following:"23. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 25:
"25. (1) The Authority may issue to the Garda Commissioner written directives concerning any matter relating to the Garda Síochána.

(2) The Garda Commissioner shall, in performing the functions of that office, comply with any directive issued under this section.

(3) As soon as practicable after issuing a directive under this section, the Authority shall provide a copy of the Directive to the Minister who shall cause a copy of the directive to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, but if compliance with this requirement might prejudice the security of the State or might impede the prevention, investigation or prosecution of an offence, it is sufficient if a written statement indicating that a directive has been issued is laid before each House.

(4) The Authority’s power under subsection (1) may not be exercised to limit the independence of a member of the Garda Síochána in performing functions relating to the investigation of a specific offence or the prosecution of an offence.

(5) The Garda Commissioner shall inform the Authority of the measures taken by the Commissioner to comply with a directive issued under this section and supply the information within the time specified by the Authority.".".

The purpose of the amendment is to allow for the Garda authority, not the Minister, to issue written directives to the Garda Commissioner. Sinn Féin's view is that the Commissioner should be accountable to the authority and that both should be independent of the Minister's control. Under the original heads of Bill, the Garda Commissioner was to be fully accountable to the authority. In the published version, however, this has been watered down such that the Minister is to retain oversight and the Commissioner will merely report to the authority. We are proposing that the authority be independent and not merely fed small bones of delegated power from the Government. For the authority to have real teeth, the Garda Commissioner must be accountable to it. The amendment would ensure that was the case.

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