Gardaí must be made responsible for investigating all crime

THE Department of Justice was given responsibility for the Garda Síochána to leave the gardaí free to do the policing while the civil servants assumed the administrative responsibility for matters such as accounting for the force.

Every garda commissioner came from outside the force prior to the appointment of deputy commissioner William Quinn in 1965. At the time, morale was low and senior gardaí were critical of the appointment of a series of civil servants to the post of commissioner. There had been a near mutiny within the force under Quinn's predecessor, Daniel Costigan.

That near mutiny at the time of the so-called Macushla Revolt of November 1961 was averted by the intervention of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid. Since then, all the new commissioners have been from within the Garda Síochána, but now the complaint can be heard among the ranks that those at the top of the force are preoccupied with administrative matters. Many complain that the force is being run by desk jockeys who are more concerned with appearance than reality. In short, it is more about public relations than actual performance.