Watchdog calls for an overhaul of its remit

The Garda Ombudsman Commission has called for an overhaul of how it is allowed to operate as a wide-ranging probe into the penalty points controversy is promised.

Kieran FitzGerald, a member of the three-person commission, said the investigation would seek access to the Garda Pulse system, and expressed the hope the investigation would receive swifter co-operation than in previous inquiries.

Mr FitzGerald said the probe would start as soon as possible in a bid to assuage public concern.

“The political controversy and various media coverage is not conducive to good public confidence in either the oversight system or the system of justice, so we would start work immediately,” he told RTÉ.

Mr FitzGerald said the commission could not have intervened in the long-running controversy before now as it is expressly forbidden to act on complaints from serving members of the gardaí.

Any attempt to become involved before being asked to do so by Justice Minister Alan Shatter would likely have been halted by a judicial review, he said.

The commission would welcome a review of the laws governing its operation, he said, as its seven years of dealing with complaints has highlighted areas where changes are needed.

Protocols agreed with the gardaí over exchange of information with the required 30-day period would be tested by the penalty points investigations, following issues regarding co-operation in the past, he added.

Mr FitzGerald said the system regarding whistleblowers in this case had “not appeared to work well”.

The move came as campaign group Transparency International Ireland urged the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee to continue its probe into the affair and invite whistleblower Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe before it to give evidence.

Its chief executive John Devitt warned an investigation by the ombudsman could take years to complete while the Oireachtas body would move more quickly.

“While we welcome the minister for justice’s decision to request an investigation into the cancellation of penalty points by the garda ombudsman, it’s not the ombudsman’s role to establish whether or how much taxpayers’ money was lost from improper cancellations. It is also unlikely that the ombudsman will have completed its investigation for a number of years — long after allegations were made public.”

Opposition parties have questioned why it took Mr Shatter more than a year to ask the ombudsman to investigate the controversy.