15 October 2021
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is set to tell the Oireachtas Justice Committee that proposals for improved garda oversight are essential to the garda reform process and must not be watered down. Proposals on the table include the establishment of a new and strengthened Police Ombudsman, as well as an expanded Policing and Community Safety Authority, and Independent Examiner of Security Legislation.
ICCL Head of Legal and Policy, Doireann Ansbro, who will address the Committee on Wednesday, said today:
“This legislation presents one of the most important opportunities to advance Garda Reform since 1922. It seeks to implement the vision of the Commission on the Future of Policing which placed great emphasis on the need for stronger garda oversight.
Independent, effective investigations into complaints against gardaí and oversight of garda compliance with human rights is crucial if we are to maintain trust and confidence in our police service. This means oversight bodies must have adequate resources, effective powers of investigation, and human rights expertise. Welcome changes are already taking place within An Garda but the necessary transformation of Irish policing cannot take place until we strengthen our oversight bodies.”
In advance of the Committee hearing, ICCL has submitted a ‘follow-up’ paper to the Committee dealing with the specific issues of how the proposed oversight bodies will operate. In that submission ICCL addresses some concerns around procedural fairness for gardaí who might be the subject of complaints.
ICCL welcomes the strong emphasis on human rights in the Policing, Security, and Community Safety Bill, and will make several other recommendations to strengthen the Bill. We will tell the Committee that, in line with CFP recommendations, gardaí should no longer act as prosecutors. We will call for the proposed Policing and Community Safety Authority to be given the power to make unannounced visits to garda holding cells. We will also raise the need for An Garda Síochána to start collecting and publishing data on its interactions with different minority groups, such as migrants and the Traveller community.
Other recommendations include that GSOC be renamed the Independent Office of the Police Ombudsperson; and that prospective members of the An Garda Síochána Board would have sufficient expertise and/or experience in human rights.
ENDS/
Find our opening statement for the Justice Committee hearing at 5:30pm on 20 October here: http://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ICCL-Opening-Statement-PSCSB.pdf
Find our initial submission on the Policing, Security, and Community Safety Bill: http://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/210813-FINAL-Policing-Security-and-Community-Safety-Bill-Submission-2.pdf
Find our follow-up submission here: http://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ICCL-follow-up-submission-on-Community-Safety-Bill.pdf
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s oldest independent human rights campaigning organisation. We monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights for everyone in Ireland.
For comment: Liam Herrick and Doireann Ansbro
For media queries: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie