Who will police the police?

After prolonged deliberation, the interim recommendations from the Oireachtas Justice Committee on Garda oversight are outrageous and absurd.

They suggest, inter alia, that the Garda Commissioner should be accountable to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission; that appointments to, and membership of, the proposed Garda Síochána Authority be the exclusive responsibility of the Public Appointments Service, without government or ministerial involvement, and that all senior roles in An Garda Siochána should be the responsibility of the authority. They further suggest that this authority could be publicly accountable via an annual report to the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Latin expression ‘quis custodiet ipsos custodes’ means ‘who guards the guards themselves’. This ought to mean that citizens are safeguarded against abuse from those in positions of power or trust. The moral authority and integrity of a Garda Ombudsman reside in independence. How could integrity and independence be sustained if the Garda Commissioner were to report to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman, without the charge being loudly made that the guards are investigating complaints against themselves? The suggestion that the Public Appointments Service be responsible for recruiting and appointing the membership of the Garda Authority is nonsense — and tantamount to the back-office personnel of a major organisation appointing a chief executive without the board of directors’ or shareholders’ sanction, and the proposed authority becoming a pimple in the armpit of the civil service, without a trace of transparency or democratic oversight.