Law set to compel commissioner to give papers to Gsoc

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) looks set to secure powers to compel the Garda Commissioner to hand over documentation in new laws being drafted by Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald.

Gsoc chairwoman Judge Mary Ellen Ring publicly sought such powers, including the ability to seek a court order directing the commissioner to provide documentation, when she appeared before the Oireachtas justice committee last September.

In a report on Garda oversight, published in December, the committee called for a “statutory means of redress” when the gardaí failed to comply with Gsoc requests for documentation.