Ombudsman to investigate gardaí in Roma case
Ms Logan raised concerns with Alan Shatter, the justice minister, that her office was restricted in its investigations to only inquire into the actions of the HSE in the removal of the two children.
Mr Shatter has now agreed that a special mechanism under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act can be used by her office to include gardaí in her probe.
Ms Logan’s office said: “At the moment I do not have the power to investigate An Garda Síochána. I feel that, in this case, I need this power to conduct a complete investigation.”
The ombudsman said: “We make sure that the law is upheld, that citizens’ rights are protected and that good standards of public administration are applied. As always, I intend to conduct an independent, impartial investigation from first principles. I will not be rubber-stamping the reports of other agencies.”
It comes after a two-year-old boy was removed from his family in Athlone, Co Westmeath, and a seven-year-old was taken from her family in Tallaght, Dublin, after members of the public reported they were not their children.
The children were taken from their Roma families after gardaí used powers under the Child Care Act and placed them in HSE care. The claims proved unfounded.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny yesterday said the force did not harbour a culture of racist attitudes within its ranks. “I don’t accept at all that there are any institutionalised racial tendencies in the gardaí.”
He added: “This is about children, it should not be about any group of children, any minority group of children, any categorisation of children, it’s about children, and there is a very careful balance to be struck here between information being made available that might give rise to concerns about welfare and health and the law of the land.”
Meanwhile, the head of the HSE’s children and family services has said the information heard in court when the Roma girl was taken into care on Monday could be made available to an investigation being carried out by Ms Logan.
Gordon Jeyes, chief executive designate for the new Child and Family Support Agency, said he had not spoken with Ms Logan’s office as of Thursday night, but that the HSE was sealing the files linked to the Roma case and was seeking the description of the information it must provide, such as the level of social work involvement in the case and the level of wider consultation.
