Calls for watchdog to oversee all justice bodies

An overarching watchdog is being proposed to oversee the entire justice apparatus, including the job of policing the Garda Ombudsman.

The Oireachtas justice committee has recomm-ended that a Criminal Justice Inspectorate would have powers to “oversee and supervise the administration of all aspects of the criminal justice system”.

Bodies under its control could include the Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, the DPP, the Probation Service, the Legal Aid Board and even the state pathologist and prison governors.