16 May 2024
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has produced a report entitled Human Rights in Ireland: Analysing the Implementation of the Recommendations from the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.
Over five years have passed since the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland published their final report, with the paramount recommendation being that human rights should be the foundation and purpose of policing.
This report traces the progress in implementation made by Government and An Garda Síochána, and
identifies the gaps and challenges that persist. While progress has been made as been made on the Commission’s overall recommendation to introduce a human-rights based approach to policing in Ireland, there are outstanding concerns regarding accountability, transparency and the effectiveness of police oversight bodies to hold An Garda Síochána to account.
The report made a number of recommendations to An Garda Síochána, Government, the Oireachtas, police oversight bodies and the Policing and Community Safety Authority, including, but not limited to:
- Adequately resourcing the Human Rights Unit to allow it to function at peak capacity and work
collaboratively with other areas of the policing service in order to fully embed a human rights ethos. - Increasing the diversity of members of An Garda Síochána through special measures such as affirmative action policies to recruit people from various socio-political backgrounds.
- Amending the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act to address concerns regarding the restructured police oversight bodies.
- Establishing a regular programme of engagement between the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána.