Justice & Equality Committee to discuss recent Garda issues with Policing Authority

ommittee Chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, TD, said: “The Policing Authority was established as an independent body to oversee the performance of An Garda Síochána in relation to policing services in this State. Its key objective is to promote trust and confidence in policing and to help shape policing services into the future.

Tomorrow, the Committee will meet with the Chairperson of the Policing Authority Josephine Feehily when we will discuss a number of recent issues in relation to An Garda Síochána, including the falsification of breath test numbers carried out by Gardaí, senior Garda promotions and the child protection audit commissioned by An Garda Síochána.

A recently released internal Garda report found nearly 1.5 million falsified breath tests were recorded on the Garda pulse system and that this was a widespread practice that occurred in every Garda district. It has been widely accepted that the breath test scandal has damaged the reputation of An Garda and public trust in the organisation. Given the fact that the Policing Authority is carrying out a separate report into this issue, we will be particularly interested in getting the Authority’s perspective on this controversy and how the situation should be dealt with.

Also for discussion tomorrow is the issue of Garda promotions and how the Policing Authority deals with senior management promotion within the service. Finally, we will discuss the recent audit of the emergency removal of children from their families by Gardaí under Section 12 of the Child Care Act. The Audit, which was carried out by Dr Geoffrey Shannon, the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, found that much greater co-operation is needed between Gardaí and Tusla to protect vulnerable children.”

This meeting will start in Committee Room 2 at 9am on Wednesday, 27 September 2017.

Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices