The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has backed calls from a group led by Senator Maurice Hayes for a new “culture of accountability” in An Garda Síochána.
The Final Report of the Advisory Group on Garda Management and Leadership Development, released today, recommends that “delegation downwards through the organisation should be matched with accountability upwards, that there should be performance measurement and appraisal at all levels and that proper arrangements are made for training and staff development”.
Speaking shortly after the release of the report, ICCL Director Mr Mark Kelly said:
“The Hayes group is calling for a new culture of accountability within An Garda Síochána. As the ICCL has consistently stressed, this should include measuring the performance of members of An Garda against human right standards. There is an urgent need for the introduction of a human rights monitoring framework that will assist a new generation of Garda managers to render our police service fully human rights compliant.”
Commenting upon the report’s recommendations on the appointment of a new Garda Commissioner, Mr Kelly added,
“I have the deepest respect for the professional abilities of the new Commissioner Designate, Deputy Commissioner Fachtna Murphy. However, it is disappointing that the Government declined to act on the Hayes Group proposal that the search for a new Garda Commissioner should extend internationally. As Maurice Hayes indicated, this would not have presumed that an external candidate would have been appointed, but could have ensured that the successful appointee would have been tested against international standards in police leadership.”