Garda inspectorate no real improvement on Complaints Board

THE proposed new garda inspectorate will not significantly improve the current failed complaints procedures, a top legal expert said yesterday.

Prof Dermot Walsh's comments follow concerns raised by the Human Rights Commission early this month about the effectiveness of the body as outlined in the General Scheme of the Garda Síochána Bill.

Last Friday, the chairman of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board, Gordon Holmes, said the inspectorate, which will replace the board, had to have all the necessary powers including the power to compel gardaí to answer questions for it to work.