Funding plea for Garda Ombudsman

THE Garda Ombudsman, and not the Government, should determine the level of resources and staffing that it needs, a top-level expert group said yesterday.

The Department of Justice-appointed group called for an external body to monitor the transformation of An Garda Síochána over the next three years.

"Staffing and resources made available (to the Ombudsman Commission) should depend on their interpretation of the task and not the other way around," said Senator Maurice Hayes, chairman of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 Implementation Review Group.