Superintendents hope complaints service is quickly up and running
The organisation that represents the senior level gardaí has echoed individual members' views, saying it will be a relief when the body is up and running.
"Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later as far as we are concerned," said Superintendent Joe Staunton, general secretary of the Association of Garda Superintendents.
"We want to feel it's not just political, we want to feel that it's real."
Officials at the Justice Department said legislation will be introduced next year as part of a package of measures.
Supt Staunton said: "We have no objection and welcome totally an independent investigative service."
He added that the investigation of complaints is not a policing function. He said it tied up a lot of gardaí three superintendents and a number of inspectors work full-time on complaints and that it was an unpopular and a time-consuming part of a superintendent's job.
Supt Staunton said it would be a relief because every superintendent has a number of complaints that they are trying to deal with in addition to other work.
The AGS's general secretary took a swipe at Fine Gael and Labour, two parties that have loudly called for the introduction of the inspectorate.
"The Garda Complaints Board was set up in conjunction with the Criminal Justice Act of 1984 during the Fine Gael-Labour coalition. Ironically these are the same parties shouting loudest to take away investigations for gardaí. We never looked for this role in the first place."
Details of the inspectorate have yet to be worked out but it is expected to have wide powers to both respond to and instigate investigations. A key problem will be employing investigators outside of gardaí who have the expertise to carry out inquiries.
Plans for the inspectorate were announced almost 12 months ago. It is being set up following criticism over the lack of independence and transparency of internal Garda investigations, particularly in high profile cases such as in Donegal and Abbeylara.
