Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

43. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has considered introducing legislation with the objective of making An Garda Síochána an independent policing authority. [39759/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have no plans to make the Garda Síochána an independent policing authority. The perceived advantage of a separate authority is that it interposes an additional layer of independent accountability between the political process and the management of An Garda Síochána. Where there is a single national police force, the case for the setting up of a policing authority to act as a link between democratic institutions and the day to day responsibility for operational policing loses much of its force. This additional layer would dilute democratic accountability and political responsibility. The relationship between the Garda Commissioner, the Government and the Houses of the Oireachtas has developed over time. The accountability of An Garda Síochána to the House, both directly and through the Minister for Justice and Equality, has been strengthened by the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

The separate roles of both the Minister and the Garda Commissioner in relation to an Garda Síochána are provided for under the provisions of the 2005 Act. The Act also made the Commissioner the Accounting Officer for the Force, and liable to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts in that capacity. In addition, the 2005 Act established the Garda Ombudsman Commission, which is empowered to carry out independent investigations into Garda conduct, as well as the Garda Inspectorate, which provides expert advice on achieving the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the operation and administration of the Force. The accountability of the Garda Síochána has, through these measures, been significantly strengthened.

Another point overlooked by those who advocate a separate authority is that An Garda Síochána is not only the police service in this jurisdiction, it is the security and intelligence service and border control authority of the State. To pass control of such matters to an unelected body beyond the executive and the legislature would clearly be problematical. It is more appropriate that An Garda Síochána should be accountable to the Government and to the Oireachtas - which are fully representative of, and dependent upon the support of the sovereign authority of, the Irish people.