Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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118. To ask the Taoiseach when he and his Department received the Cooke report; the actions he will be taking as result of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25229/14]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The report of Judge John D. Cooke on his Inquiry into Reports of Unlawful Surveillance of the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) was received in my Department on 4 June 2014. I was in the United States on a jobs-focussed mission in Silicon Valley at that time and received the report following my return on 8 June 2014.

I brought the Report to the attention of the Government at its meeting on 10 June 2014. The Government accepted in full the Report's findings and conclusions and agreed to publish it that evening.

The matters arising from the Cooke Report fall within the area of responsibility of the Minister for Justice and Equality and will inform how the Minister will proceed with the comprehensive programme of reform in the areas of policing and justice in Ireland, including on foot of the Guerin Report, that has already been announced.

As part of this programme of change, the Minister for Justice and Equality is bringing forward new legislation to reform, strengthen and clarify the remit and operation of GSOC, to ensure it is fit for purpose and to further ensure that the men and women of an Garda Síochána, as well as the wider public, can have the fullest confidence in its workings.

Specifically arising from the Cooke Report, the proposed new bill to reform the workings of GSOC will clarify the legal basis under which GSOC can initiate a Public Interest Investigation as well as the thresholds for initiating such an investigation.

The proposed bill will also further clarify and strengthen the provisions relating to the preparation and implementation of protocols relating to co-operation between Gardaí & GSOC.

In addition, the Department of Justice & Equality will carry out an examination of the resources available to GSOC and will ask both GSOC and the Garda Commissioner to provide a response to the Cooke Report. The Report will also be referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence & Equality for further consideration and discussion.