Gardaí criticised for delaying abuse complaint probes

THE Garda Complaints Board (GCB) yesterday strongly criticised gardaí for using the system to avoid answering serious complaints of abuse.

Publishing its annual report, the GCB said many gardaí delayed inquiries as long as they could — often by court challenges — to reach retirement age, at which stage they could not be touched by the board.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell indicated at the launch that he would be introducing measures in the coming weeks aimed at reducing the gardaí’s ability to delay proceedings through judicial reviews in the courts.