Written answers

Thursday, 5 July 2018

Department of Justice and Equality

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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143. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 147 of 10 May 2018, if the strategic information request received by GSOC relating to the incident outlined that there had been a single discharge of a firearm or if there had been more than one discharge. [29869/18]

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff attached to the Longford GSOC office by year. [29870/18]

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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145. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the areas for which each of the GSOC offices have responsibility. [29871/18]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 to 145, inclusive, together.

From the outset, the Deputy should note that section 67 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 clearly sets out the degree to which GSOC operates independently in the discharge of their functions.

In terms of establishing the independence of its function, the Act grants the Commission all powers that are necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of its functions; grants that the Commission shall be independent in the performance of its functions and grants that the chairperson of the Ombudsman Commission shall manage and control generally the officers, administration and business of the Commission.

As the required information would not typically be retained within the Department observations were sought from the Commission in order to respond to the Deputy's question.

In response to Question 148, GSOC advised that the strategic information request received in relation to the incident outlined in Question 147 of 10 May 2018 informed them that there had been a single discharge of a firearm. As you are aware, there was no public interest investigation into this matter to which you referred as, after weighing the circumstances of the incident and considering the available information, the Ombudsman Commission decided that an investigation in the public interest was not warranted on this occasion.

With regards to Question 149, relating to the number of staff attached to the Longford GSOC office by year, I have been informed that the Commission originally assigned 5 staff members to its Longford Office when it was established at the IDA Business Park, Ballinalee Road, Longford in February 2009. In Early 2013, the number of staff was increased to 6 and this remains the number of staff currently assigned to GSOC's Longford Office.

In relation to Question 150, I can advise the Deputy that the regional GSOC offices do not have a strictly defined responsibility for any particular geographic area. GSOC teams are required to be flexible to meet case demands in whatever area of the country is necessary, depending on operational need and available resources. However to ensure the most effective and efficient use of GSOC resources, where possible, cases are assigned to the regional office where the majority of the investigative work on a given case may be required.

The manner in which cases are allocated is separate from the Commission's on-call service when responding to an incident that is the subject of a referral from the Garda Síochána under section 102 of the Act. In this instance, it is required that the investigation team rostered for on-call duty must respond to any referrals as they arise. This may result in the on-call team handling an investigation at any location within the state, regardless of geographic proximity to where they are usually based.

Furthermore, a particular investigator or team may also be deployed to work away from their usual office location due to having a particular skill, training or area of expertise that would assist in a particular investigation. In short, the three GSOC offices have responsibility for the entire country.

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