Section 208 provides for the appointment of a designated officer to undertake investigations of admissible complaints and other specified matters where the police ombudsman is required to undertake such investigations or has determined such investigation is warranted. This minor amendment is required to correct a cross-reference which referred to section 204(2), when it should have been more specific in referring to section 204(1)(d). It is a technical amendment.

This amendment is required to correct an error identified in section 215(1)(a)(iii). Section 215 deals more broadly with the provision of reports to the Garda Commissioner by the police ombudsman on foot of a police ombudsman investigation. As previously drafted, the subparagraph in question applied only to members of An Garda Síochána and not to members of Garda staff. This is incorrect and not in line with the expansion of the police ombudsman's remit under the Bill to include all Garda personnel. This will only …

The amendment concerns section 224, which provides that the police ombudsman can review certain decisions made relating to the inadmissibility of a complaint or the discontinuation of an investigation. The amendment was required following a request from GSOC to reconsider subsections (6) and (7) of section 224, which set out how a person should be notified of a decision that a complaint made to the police ombudsman has been deemed inadmissible or that a police ombudsman investigation has been discontinued. GSOC was…

This amendment relates to section 228, which deals generally with transitional complaints and investigations of GSOC when moving from the 2005 Act to the new regime under this Bill. My Department was informed there was a GSOC examination ongoing under section 106 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. That section allows GSOC to examine the practices, policies or procedures of An Garda Síochána in order to prevent complaints arising. The amendment inserts a new subsection (9), which will allow for that examination to cont…

This ministerial amendment is technical and required to deal with an error that occurred in the transposition of the Bill as amended on Committee Stage in this House. Section 252 lists sections of the Bill under which orders or regulations may be made in the post-Committee Stage draft of the Bill. Paragraph (j) in subsection (3) referred to section 3 of the Bill. This is incorrect as there is no power to make orders or regulations in that section. The correct cross-reference is to section 264(3) and the amendment c…

This amendment is technical and necessary to correct an error that occurred in the drafting process. Section 266(k)(ii) amends section 47(1A) of the Coroners Act 1962, a provision which allows for the current ombudsman commission to perform functions in relation to requesting the exhumation of bodies in certain circumstances. Section 266(k)(ii) updates references to the ombudsman commission with reference to the police ombudsman but, as currently drafted, it has two references to the body of the police ombudsman wh…

The amendments in this grouping are technical in nature and were required to update references to the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act 2023 with reference to this Bill, when enacted. They also serve to continue certain CCTV schemes set out under section 38 of the 2005 Act until such time as the new scheme to be rolled out under the 2023 Act is ready to commence. Deputies will be aware that the recording devices Act was enacted in December last.

These amendments relate to the amendments to the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011. Section 6E of the 2011 Act permits An Garda Síochána to access cell site location data providing the geographic location of a mobile phone generally within the last 48-hour period in what are emerging cases. Access to this data may be granted where urgently needed to protect a person from a serious risk to life or personal safety or to determine the whereabouts of a missing person. A Garda request for permission to get thi…

The Garda has said it is causing difficulty, given the level at which the officer has to attend court. By reducing it to inspector, it will be much easier for the Garda to use it. It is proving difficult for its members and by reducing it to the rank of inspector, there will be more flexibility and an ability for them to attend court in the way they need. It does not take away any of the protections and it will still have to go through court. That is still in place. It is just the rank of the officer that is changi…

Without question, immigration is a topic that is at the forefront of many of our minds at this time. We are reading about it in the newspapers, seeing posts online and speaking about it with our family and friends. I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak about it in the House. I want to leave Members in no doubt as to my view of immigration, which is that it has been good for this country. Many of those who have come to live and work here are breathing new life into our villages, keeping our schools open and…

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As the amendments are grouped, I have a more general response. Amendment No. 50 relates to section 72. It sets out the standard terms under which the Commissioner is required to appear before the committees. Amendment No. 51 is similar and sets out the terms under which the Commissioner is required to appear before a committee other than the public accounts committee. Amendment No. 66 relates to the director of the national office before the Oireachtas committees as well. Amendments Nos. 106 and 107 relate to the a…

This amendment concerns section 75 of Bill, which sets out the functions of the audit committee of the proposed new Garda board. Its purpose is to align the provisions in subsections (1)(c) and (2)(b) with those in subsection (1)(a) with regard to what matters the audit committee will provide advice on. As currently drafted, the committee will advise the Garda Commissioner on governance and financial matters but only advise the board on financial matters. This amendment simply ensures that the audit committee will …

I thank the Senator. I do not accept amendment No. 54 because the number and nature of something is inherent to statistics and statistical information. I do not want to duplicate what is already encompassed within the term in this Bill. It is the case that the number and nature of offences will be taken on board and captured. On amendment No. 55, the general terms used in this provision are appropriate to make sure all necessary statistics can be collected. The Commissioner is not prevented from collecting further …

I thank the Senator for outlining the proposed amendment. The objective is to expand the code of conduct - to not just look at the code of conduct but at what happens if somebody breaches it. I understand the reasoning behind it. However, it would be better for it to be taken into consideration as part of the regulations specific to what happens next. Section 257 provides for the making of regulations by the Minister concerning the procedures to apply to address misconduct by members of An Garda Síochána. These pro…

I agree with what the Senator is trying to achieve here but it is covered in what we already have. Subsection (3) provides for actions by the appointed person, that is, the person who has been appointed to undertake the special inquiry. Where there has been an inexcusable delay or some sort of delay on the part of the person who is supposed to comply with the direction, the appointed person can take action. For example, where there is a delay specific to a member of An Garda Síochána, the person carrying out the in…

Section 101 provides that the Garda Commissioner is liable to an action for damages in respect of damage resulting from an actionable wrong committed by a member of An Garda Síochána acting in the course of performing the member's functions. It restates section 48 of the 2005 Act, subject to amendment, to substitute the Garda Commissioner for the State. The section confirms the liability of the Garda Commissioner for any of these actions. The amendment would see subsection (5) expand to clarify that this liability …

If someone is on the way from a station to respond to a burglary, that occurs in the course of his or her duties or as part of the Garda function. That is not the case where the garda is not working or on the roster and takes a Garda car and something happens. Where it is within the remit of An Garda Síochána, the Garda Commissioner has a role. However, if a member heads off somewhere and something happens, the member is liable. That distinction is created in the Bill. If something happens on the way to deal with a…