Garda inspectorate ‘must be independent’

THE planned garda inspectorate must be independent, impartial, and have strong investigative powers if it is to work properly, the North’s police ombudsman will argue at a major conference today.

Nuala O’Loan, one of the speakers at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties-organised conference, is expected to speak about how the body she heads has changed policing in the North and the benefits of having it in place.

The three founding principles of the North’s ombudsman are independence, impartiality and investigation, she will tell delegates at the Dublin seminar.

Ms O’Loan has investigated a number of high profile cases, including the police handling of the Omagh investigation. Her report was severely criticised by former Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.

She will be joined at the conference by the Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who has advanced plans for the Garda inspectorate. Mr McDowell hopes to publish legislation before the end of the summer and has vowed the inspectorate will have the full powers of an ombudsman.

A three-person board, and a team of investigators, is planned and they will be allowed to initiate their own investigations under the legislation. But it will have no input into policy or performance.

The seminar will look at various international standards of policing and human rights. The ICCL will also publish its report calling for the introduction of the report of the Patten Commission on the North’s policing, a template not fully introduced across the border. The ICCL will urge the establishment of an independent Garda Board.

Its report argues: "This Board, similar to the Policing Board in Northern Ireland, should be drawn from both elected representatives and representatives of different sectors of the community.

"In particular, the Board should include representatives of minority groups, human rights groups, the legal professions and sections of the community, which have a high level of contact with the Garda."