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Tánaiste and Minister
for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell):
The publication of the
third fourth and fifth reports of the Morris Tribunal underlined the
absolute necessity for the Government to continue to implement its
radical reform programme for An Garda Síochána. This reform process had
its origins in the publication of the Garda Síochána Bill in 2003.
Nothing in the latest Morris reports negate in any way the vigorous
approach taken since then — in fact the reports emphasise the need to
redouble our efforts to ensure that the ongoing process of change
continues apace.
The Garda Síochána Act 2005 represents a fundamental restatement of the
oversight and accountability relationship which has existed between my
Department and the Gardaí since 1922. It goes to the very core of
policing — recasting in statute form the formal relationship between the
Executive, the Minister, the Oireachtas and An Garda Síochána as well as
the Force’s relationship with local Government. It imposes a clear
statutory duty on every member of the force, when required to do so by a
member of higher rank, to account for his or her action or inaction
while on duty. Failure to do so is sufficient to ground disciplinary
action which may lead to dismissal.
Already the Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Síochána Inspectorate
have been appointed — the composition of both these bodies is indicative
of the level of importance which the Government attaches to them. Staff
from my Department have been assigned to each and are currently engaged
in putting the necessary infrastructure in place. I understand that the
Commission is working towards being in a position to receive complaints
as soon as possible in 2007.
New Promotion Regulations came into effect on 22 September. Those
regulations will bring about significant modernisation of the system for
promotion within the Garda Síochána. They formalise the requirement for
promotion to be based on merit and for all competitions to be held in a
manner which is:
(a) fair, impartial and objective,
(b) in line with best practice,
(c) consistent throughout, and
(d) open, accountable and transparent.
These principles, combined with the introduction of additional external
expertise in selecting candidates for promotion within the Garda
Síochána, will result in a system which reflects current best practice.
In the wake of the recent reports, and with the agreement of the
Commissioner, I have appointed a four person civilian expert group,
chaired by Senator Maurice Hayes, to advise him on the development of
management and leadership skills for senior officers, the promotion of a
culture of performance management and accountability, the development of
human resource management and succession planning and the development of
specialist skills and enhanced training for members and staff of An
Garda Síochána.
Of particular relevance in the context of the latest reports of the
Tribunal are the new draft discipline regulations which have been drawn
up. These are based on well-established principles in the private and
public sector and are significantly more streamlined than the system
which is currently in existence. The next step is for them to undergo
consideration by the Garda representative bodies. Also, arising from the
most recent reports, on my instructions regulations for a
Whistleblower’s charter within An Garda Síochána have been drawn up and
are being finalised in consultation with the Commissioner, the Ombudsman
Commission and Garda Inspectorate, as provided for in Garda Síochána Act
2005.
Change in our national policing service is being pursued in a vigorous
but sensible manner — I am conscious of the fundamental importance of
getting it right. I intend to do so.
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