Unclear how far powers of new office to initiate its own investigations will go
Mark Hennessy
Conor Lally
The new Garda ombudsman will be able to investigate allegations of poor conduct, corruption or other charges against gardaí.
Speaking in advance of last night's RTÉ Prime Time programme, the Department of Justice emphasised that the office would be able to launch inquiries on its own initiative.
However, it is not yet clear how far this power will go since the Minister made it clear last July that it would be able to launch investigations without being asked to do so if someone dies in Garda custody, or during a Garda operation, or if it receives a direct complaint from the public, but not otherwise.
Taking over the duties of the Garda Complaints Board, the new body, headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge, will have a fraction of the staff enjoyed by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.
The Minister has dropped his long-standing objection to naming the new three-person body as the ombudsman, rather than his preferred choice, the Garda inspectorate.
The Minister produced a draft Garda Síochána Bill last July in advance of discussions with interested parties, including the Garda. "I don't think that there will be dramatic changes to the Bill, but there were a number of issues that we were then working on with the Attorney General and others. There will be a lot more detail included now, including about the powers of the Ombudsman," a Department of Justice spokesman told The Irish Times.
However, it is not yet clear whether the ombudsman will be able to investigate Garda "policies and practices", rather than just individual complaints made against officers.
Under the draft legislation produced by the Minister, it would be barred from investigating such matters unless it was specifically "asked to do so" by the Minister for Justice.
The draft also proposed that the Garda would have to supply all necessary information and papers, except where release could prejudice an ongoing case or threaten State security.
In addition, it would have to provide 48 hours notice before it would be able to enter any Garda station and inspect all documents, or anything else held there.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Garda Complaints Board, Mr Gordon Holmes, warned his board urgently needs to be given more powers to investigate gardaí. He said the mooted new Garda inspectorate, or ombudsman, may not be in place for a number of years despite the fact the relevant legislation is about to come before the Dáil.
"We have a situation in the UK where legislation on a new independent complaints body was passed last July 12 months, yet it doesn't begin operating until April," he said, adding that the Government's decentralisation plans will see the new Garda inspectorate, or ombudsman, moved to Portarlington, Co Laois.