The Garda Commissioner has dismissed or constructively dismissed more than 30 members of the force for misconduct since he took charge of the force, he told journalists yesterday.
Mr Pat Byrne was speaking after the graduation ceremony for 118 new gardaí. "The Garda is not ignoring instances of crime by colleagues. There are charges brought and there are convictions, based on evidence gathered by members of the Garda," he said.
Asked why internal Garda investigations into allegations against gardaí were not published, he said: "If it's a matter for the DPP, it can't be put into the public arena. But perhaps the results or findings of inquiries should be put into the public arena to allay fears."
Referring to comments by the chairman of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board, Mr Gordon Holmes, that certain members of the force had not co-operated with the board in its recent investigation into the policing of a demonstration last May, Mr Byrne said that a mechanism existed to ensure such co-operation.
"Breaches of discipline, when dealt with by the GSCB, mirror the disciplinary regulations within the Garda. There is a mechanism for acquiring reports on what people did or did not do when on duty. I have used it in the past," he said.
He added: "It's a complex and unwieldy section of the Act. Co-operation has to be sought in a certain set of circumstances."
He said that the gardaí concerned had co-operated fully with the internal Garda inquiry conducted by Assistant Commissioner Hickey. He stressed that he had not yet read the report from the board.
Addressing the graduates earlier, he said that the demands on the Garda were more complex than before, and were often competing, requiring a multi-faceted approach. This centred on enhanced interaction between the gardaí and the community.
There had been a previous emphasis on crime control, which was in danger of becoming reactive and sometimes confrontational, he said, with policing by consent beginning to unravel.
He told the graduates that they must never engage in behaviour which had the potential to alienate them from the community. They must attend to the interests of all members of the community in an impartial, sensitive and professional manner. He also advised them not to permit their personal attitudes to influence professional decisions.
Certificates were presented to 118 gardaí, 45 women and 73 men, by the Minister for Justice at the ceremony yesterday.