Human rights body concerned at Garda Ombudsman restrictions

A EUROPEAN human rights body has more powers to enter garda stations than the new Garda Ombudsman, a State-appointed watchdog said yesterday.

The Human Rights Commission said that while the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture could go into a garda station at will, the Garda Ombudsman must give prior notice and can be denied entry by the justice minister.

The HRC said that while it generally welcomed the Garda Síochána Bill 2004, under which the ombudsman is being set up, it still had a number of serious concerns.

It described as "unnecessarily restrictive" provisions whereby the justice minister can exclude individual stations, or part of them, from an inspection by the Garda Ombudsman.

"The idea of designated stations, whereby the minister can make it off bounds, we don't like that idea," said HRC commissioner Prof William Binchy.

"The ombudsman commission is also bound by the Official Secrets Act. That idea of national security is a bit of an overreaction." In an analysis of the bill, the HRC said international bodies, such as the CPT, had "unrestricted freedom to enter police stations without prior notification."

The HRC said an alternative system could be put in place, whereby a senior garda could seal any material thought to concern national security and that a judge could adjudicate on whether it should be handed over to the ombudsman.

The HRC said the stipulation that only complaints concerning "death or serious harm" had be investigated by the ombudsman was too narrow.

"Investigation of complaints by the Garda Commissioner should be confined to limited circumstances relating to minor complaints and there should be an explicit presumption in favour of investigation by the ombudsman commission," it said.

The HRC also called for the general time limit for submitting a complaint to be doubled from the proposed six months to 12 months.

The agency said it had "grave reservations" about giving police powers to the volunteer members of the proposed garda reserve force. The HRC said it would be monitoring closely any moves by the minister to set up such a force without adequate human rights safeguards.

The HRC also expressed concern at the apparent increase in control over the force by the justice minister. It said the bill gave broad discretionary powers to the minister over garda operations as well as retaining the system of political appointment of senior officers.

The HRC expressed concern at the high penalties €50,000 and/or five years' jail for a garda convicted on indictment for disclosing information to the media or others. It also called for community representatives to be included in the local policing committees.

See www.ihrc.ie.