New draft legislation to be published today will allow, for the first time, full criminal investigations into alleged Garda misbehaviour to be carried out by people other than members of An Garda Síochána.
The new Garda Bill has been described by the Minister for Justice as a defining piece of legislation for his term of office.
Running to 100 sections, it provides for greater accountability for An Garda Síochána and for a new complaints procedure operated through an Ombudsman Commission.
The new Bill, to be unveiled today, will also include provisions to enable the introduction of new disciplinary procedures later this year.
It will also include provisions for local policing committees to be formed jointly with local authorities.
While the committees will have no powers of oversight over Garda policy and practice, they will act as forums for discussion on policing matters in the local area, allowing input from local representatives.
The three-person Ombudsman Commission, which will deal with complaints against the force, is expected to have considerably more powers than were contained in the Heads of the Garda Bill published last July. It is intended to address unravelling public confidence in the Garda.
This was highlighted in a recent Irish Times poll which revealed that only 58 per cent of the population had confidence in the force.
This figure fell to 40 per cent among young people throughout the State, and to 46 per cent of all age groups in the Dublin area. Generally, confidence was lower among people who had direct contact with members of the Garda on the beat, and higher among older people in rural areas.
The Ombudsman Commission will have its own staff with full Garda powers of investigation, including the power to arrest and detain members of the force, to carry out searches, enter premises, seize documents and take bodily samples.
The Irish Times poll showed that 86 per cent of the population supports an Ombudsman-type body having such powers.
The Ombudsman Commission, which replaced the Inspectorate in the Heads of Bill, will be empowered to initiate its own investigations without any formal complaint being made, if a possible offence comes to its attention through the media or another source. This corresponds to similar powers held by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.
Following an investigation, the commission will be able to refer files directly to the Director of Public Prosecutions if, in its opinion, an offence has been committed.
The existing time limit of six months for the bringing of prosecutions against members of the force, following a complaint, is likely to be increased to one year.
The commission will be made up of three people, one of whom must be male and one female. Provision will exist to replace a member of the judiciary who is appointed to it, but it is not a requirement of the legislation that one of its members be a judge.
It will also have the power to investigate policy and procedures within An Garda Síochána, to identify systemic failures and recommend solutions.
If it receives complaints that, in its view, do not amount to allegations of criminal behaviour, it can hand them over to the Garda Commissioner for investigation, with specific recommendations on the action to be taken. There will be mechanisms for the Commissioner to report back to the Ombudsman Commission on the action taken. In the North, the Police Ombudsman investigates all complaints.
The Garda Commissioner will also have to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, as the accounting officer for An Garda Síochána.