Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

These amendments follow on from previous amendments made to the Bill in the Dáil arising from proposals made by Deputies on the issue of the prominence of the Irish language in the names of newly established bodies. The Bill already provides for Irish language names for the various policing bodies, in line with the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. I did not include the reformed body which replaces the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in the initial set of amendments, as I wanted to give further consideration to the proposed name of the body. This will be a public-facing body in the police oversight system and to that extent, its name is important. The office will have the attributes of an ombudsman but this does not fully capture the full scope of the policing oversight role involved, which will involve live criminal investigations. I am proposing to change the name of the new office in the Bill from Office of the Police Ombudsman to its Irish language equivalent, Oifig an Ombudsman Póilíneachta, and to add the name Fiosrú, meaning "Inquiry", to the official title, to read Fiosrú-Oifig an Ombudsman Póilíneachta. This will reflect the revised approach to the naming of public bodies in the Irish language, while also reflecting the broader policing inquiry and investigation aspects of this new office.