Garda ombudsman’s office ‘must have teeth’

THE man responsible for overseeing the setting up of the new three-person police Ombudsman Commission here last night said some of their powers were “nonsense” because they would have to get permission to enter a garda station.

Senator Maurice Hayes said he would prefer the Northern model of a single ombudsman for the gardaí rather than the three person Ombudsman Commission proposed by Justice Minister Michael McDowell.

The minister has named Mr Hayes as chairman of the body that will oversee the implementation of the new garda bill which contains the proposals. Mr Hayes said it is not clear who would make final decisions in the three-person Ombudsman Commission.

“I was surprised at the proposal that the Ombudsman Commission would have to ask permission from the garda commissioner before going into a police station - this is nonsense,” Mr Hayes told RTÉ’s Week in Politics programme.

Senator Hayes said a police ombudsman must be unfettered and must be able to act on their own initiative, with the same powers as a High Court Judge.

He served on the Patton Commission which set up the ombudsman’s office in the North. Pat Finucane, whose father was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries, also hit out at the proposed three-person Ombudsman Commission.

“It would be like having a three-person Attorney General’s office or a three- person Director of Public Prosecutions office - it is unworkable, you need a single strong independent police ombudsman,” Mr Finucane told RTÉ.

The North’s Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan has extensive powers to enter buildings and seize documents. Her office has an annual budget of €11m.

University of Limerick criminal law expert Dr Dermot Walsh also criticised the proposed commission saying it allows too much room for “fudge”. Labour TD Brendan Howlin called for the new Garda Bill to be immediately amended to give us a “Nuala O’Loan-style” ombudsman here.

“The two Morris Tribunal reports show it is time to revisit this - I had comprehensive legislation copied from Patton drafted when I was Justice Minister to bring in a new independent garda ombudsman here,” Mr Howlin said.

Justice Minster Michael McDowell’s spokeswoman said last night she did not want to comment on Senator Hayes’s criticisms without first seeing the full Week in Politics programme.

Mr McDowell has insisted that the new Ombudsman Commission will have all the investigative powers of the North’s police ombudsman.