Chance to open doors to garda transparency
The tone of the farewell to Simon O’Brien said it all. Following the announcement on Wednesday that he was leaving his position as chair of the Garda Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), the Department of Justice issued the mandatory cupla focal. “The minister thanks Mr O’Brien for the important contribution he made in his role as chairperson of GSOC as well as the valuable contribution to his previous role in the Garda Inspectorate, and wishes him all the best in his endeavours in his new career.”
Less than effusive and even a few adjectives short of complimentary. O’Brien’s contribution in GSOC was “important”, but not “valuable”. There is no mention of the challenges he faced during his three year-tenure at the helm of a body still struggling to find its feet. Nothing about how he was in situ when GSOC had to battle to assert its independence in a culture still resisting oversight. From the Government’s point of view, it’s easy to see why they are not sorry to see the back of him. O’Brien’s tenure was marked by a major controversy in GSOC, one which contributed to the loss of serious political capital by the Government. It fed into wider controversies around An Garda Siochana, which ultimately led Enda Kenny to effectively sack his justice minister. When things get that bad in government it matters not a whit how well a public servant performed his duty. All he will be remembered for in the upper echelons of Fine Gael is that he was a figure in the vortex of garda/justice issues that dogged the Government for the first half of last year.
