Policing Authority to discuss dismissing Garda

The Policing Authority is to discuss this week whether to dismiss a member of An Garda Síochána.

It is understood the oversight body has received a file from Garda HQ recommending the person be sacked. The circumstances of the particular case are not clear.

However, dismissals are often made if a Garda had received a criminal conviction or has been subject to repeated disciplinary proceedings of a serious nature.

The agenda for a private meeting of the authority on Thursday states that it will discuss a “proposal to dismiss a member of the Garda Síochána in accordance with Section 39 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005”.

Under this section, a member “shall”, when directed to do so by a member of a higher rank, account for “any act or omission” made by the member while on duty.

The provision states that a failure to comply with such a direction shall be subject to disciplinary action.

Following a disciplinary inquiry, a file would have been prepared for the commissioner.

The acting commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin would have then passed on his recommendation, and the file, to the authority.