Garda commissioner vetoed complaint against his own office

The flaws in the system of gardaí complaining about malpractice have been further highlighted by revelations that the Garda commissioner effectively vetoed a complaint against his own office.

A complaint against Commissioner Martin Callinan’s intentions to promote a senior officer who was under investigation was made in January 2012 through the confidential recipient system in place. The complaint was handed to the commissioner to deal with and he quickly responded that the complaint had no basis.

There is no mechanism within the system for an outside agent to adjudicate on a complaint against the commissioner.