Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015

Type Act

Publication 2015-12-18

State In force

Source Irish Statute Book

articles 61

(8) If the High Court determines that subsection (2) applies to the matter, the committee shall withdraw its request insofar as it relates to the matter, but if the Court determines that subsection (2) does not apply, the Chief Executive shall attend before the committee to give account for the matter.

(9) In carrying out duties under this section, the Chief Executive shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy.

(10) In this section ‘committee’ means—

(a) a committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas (other than the Committee of Public Accounts, the Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann), or

(b) a sub-committee of a committee falling under paragraph (a).”.

PART 8 Matters Relating to Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and Garda Síochána Inspectorate

45. Amendment of section 67(1) of Principal Act

45. Section 67(1) of the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) in paragraph (a) by the substitution of “members of the Garda Síochána,” for “members of the Garda Síochána, and”, and

(b) the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (b):

“(b) to promote and encourage the use of mediation and other informal means of resolving complaints that are suitable for resolution by such means, and

46. Amendment of section 81 of Principal Act

46. Section 81 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)(d), by the substitution of “personal information (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2014)” for “personal information (as defined in the Freedom of Information Act 1997)”, and

(b) in subsection (4), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d):

“(d) is made to a tribunal appointed under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Acts 1921 to 2011, a commission of investigation established under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 or a committee within the meaning of section 2 of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013 for the purposes of a Part 2 inquiry, within the meaning of that section, under that Act,”.

47. Amendment of section 90 of Principal Act

47. (1) Section 90 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “Ombudsman Commission shall, following consultation with the Garda Commissioner, issue guidelines” for “Ombudsman Commission may issue guidelines”, and

(b) in subsection (7), by the substitution of “Ombudsman Commission may, following consultation with the Garda Commissioner, revise any guidelines issued under this section or withdraw those guidelines” for “Ombudsman Commission may revise any guidelines issued under this section or may withdraw those guidelines”.

(2) Guidelines issued by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission under section 90 of the Principal Act before the commencement of this section continue in force until they are replaced by guidelines issued under that section of the Principal Act as it is amended by subsection (1).

48. Amendment of section 102 of Principal Act

48. Section 102 (as amended by section 6 of the Act of 2015) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(4A) The Authority may, if it appears to it desirable in the public interest to do so, request the Ombudsman Commission to investigate any matter relating to policing services that gives rise to a concern that a member of the Garda Síochána may have done anything referred to in subsection (4), and the Commission shall investigate that matter.”,

(b) in subsection (5A), by the substitution of “subsection (4), (4A) or (5) ” for “subsection (4) or (5) ”,

(d) by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (6):

“(7) Notwithstanding subsections (4A) and (5) —

(a) the Authority may refer to the Ombudsman Commission any matter relating to policing services, and

(b) the Minister may refer to the Ombudsman Commission any matter,

that gives rise to a cause for concern that a member of the Garda Síochána may have done anything referred to in subsection (4) for the Commission to consider whether the matter is one that it should investigate under that subsection.”.

49. Amendment of section 102B of Principal Act

49. Section 102B (inserted by section 7 of the Act of 2015) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) The Authority may, if it appears to it desirable in the public interest to do so and subject to the consent of the Minister, request the Ombudsman Commission to investigate any matter that gives rise to a concern that the Garda Commissioner may, in the performance of his or her functions relating to policing services, have done anything referred to in subsection (1), and the Commission shall investigate that matter.”,

(b) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “any matter under subsection (1) ” for “any matter under subsection (2) ”,

“(3A) If the Minister refuses to consent to the Authority making a request for an investigation by the Ombudsman Commission under subsection (1A), he or she shall inform the Authority of his or her reasons for the refusal.”,

(d) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3A) (inserted by paragraph (c)):

“(3B) The Minister shall issue a directive to a Deputy Garda Commissioner or an Assistant Garda Commissioner requiring him or her to take any lawful measures that appear to him or her to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of—

(i) preserving evidence relating to the conduct of the Garda Commissioner that is the subject of an investigation of a matter under subsection (1), (1A) or (2), and

(ii) facilitating the Ombudsman Commission to obtain that evidence.

(3C) A Deputy Garda Commissioner or an Assistant Garda Commissioner to whom a directive is issued under subsection (3B) shall comply with the directive.”,

(e) in subsection (4), by the substitution of “a matter under subsection (1), (1A) or (2)” for “a matter under subsection (1) or (2)” in both places where it occurs, and

(f) in subsection (5), by the substitution of “an investigation under subsection (1), (1A) or (2)” for “an investigation under subsection (1) or (2)”.

50. Amendment of section 103(1) of Principal Act

50. Section 103(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c) (inserted by section 8(b) of the Act of 2015):

“(c) if the investigation is one to which section 102B applies—

(i) the Garda Commissioner,

(ii) the Authority,

(iii) the Minister, and

(iv) any other person that the Commission considers has a sufficient interest in the matter.”.

51. Amendment of section 104 of Principal Act

51. Section 104 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of “within 18 months from the date of the offence” for “within 12 months from the date of the offence”.

52. Examination of certain practices, policies and procedures of Garda Síochána

52. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 106 (as amended by section 10 of the Act of 2015):

“106. (1) For the purpose of preventing complaints arising in relation to a practice, policy or procedure of the Garda Síochána or of reducing the incidence of such complaints, the Ombudsman Commission—

(a) may, if it considers it appropriate to do so, or

(b) shall, if so requested by—

(i) the Minister within such period as he or she may specify in the request, or

(ii) the Authority, in respect of any matter relating to policing services, within such period as it may specify in the request,

examine the practice, policy or procedure.

(2) The Minister shall notify the Authority of a request made by him or her under subsection (1)(b).

(3) The Authority shall notify the Minister of a request made by it under subsection (1)(b).

(4) The Ombudsman Commission shall, before commencing an examination of a practice, policy or procedure under subsection (1), inform the Garda Commissioner in writing of—

(a) if appropriate, the nature of a request from the Minister under subsection (1)(b)(i) or the Authority under subsection (1)(b)(ii), as the case may be,

(b) the specific practice, policy or procedure to be examined under subsection (1), and

(5) The Ombudsman Commission shall—

(a) report to—

(i) the Minister as soon as practicable or, if appropriate, within such period as the Minister specifies in his or her request under subsection (1)(b) (i), or

(ii) the Authority as soon as practicable or, if appropriate, within such period as the Authority specifies in its request under subsection (1)(b) (ii),

as the case may be, on the results of the examination,

(b) include in the report any recommendations of the Commission for achieving the purpose referred to in subsection (1) in relation to the practice, policy or procedure examined, and

(6) The Authority shall, as soon as practicable, provide the Minister with a copy of any report received by it under subsection (5)(a).

(7) The Minister may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so having regard to the functions of the Authority under this Act, provide the Authority with a copy of any report received by him or her under subsection (5)(a).

(8) Subject to subsection (9), the Minister shall cause copies of any reports received by him or her under subsection (5) or (6) to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

(9) The Minister may exclude from the copies of reports which are to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas under subsection (8) any matter which, in his or her opinion—

(a) would be prejudicial to the interests of national security, or

(b) might facilitate the commission of an offence, prejudice a criminal investigation or jeopardise the safety of any person.”.

53. Amendment of section 117 of Principal Act

53. Section 117 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2) (as amended by section 11 of the Act of 2015):

“(2) The functions of the Inspectorate are—

(a) in furtherance of its objective to carry out, if it considers it appropriate to do so or at the request of—

(i) the Authority in respect of a matter relating to policing services, or

(ii) the Minister,

inspections or inquiries in relation to any particular aspects of the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána,

(b) to submit to the Authority or the Minister, as the case may be—

(i) a report on those inspections or inquiries, and

(ii) if required by—

(I) the Authority in relation to policing services, or

(II) the Minister,

as the case may be, a report on the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána during a specified period and on any significant developments in that regard during that period,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(3A) The Authority shall notify the Minister of a request made by it under subsection (2)(a) and shall, as soon as practicable, provide the Minister with a copy of any report received by it under subsection (2)(b).

(3B) The Minister shall notify the Authority of a request made by him or her under subsection (2)(a) and may, if he or she considers it appropriate having regard to the functions of the Authority under this Act, provide the Authority with a copy of any report received by him or her under subsection (2)(b).”,

and

54. Recommendations in Inspectorate report

54. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 117:

“117A.(1) The Minister or the Authority, as may be appropriate, may monitor and assess the measures taken by the Garda Síochána in relation to the recommendations contained in a report prepared by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate and submitted to the Minister or the Authority under section 117(2) (b).

(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), the Minister may request the Authority to monitor and assess the measures taken by the Garda Síochána in relation to such of the recommendations contained in a report prepared by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, and submitted to the Minister or the Authority under section 117(2) (b), as the Minister may specify in the request.

(3) The Garda Commissioner shall supply the Minister and the Authority with such information and documents as the Minister or the Authority, as the case may be, may require for the purposes of this section.

(4) The Authority shall, as soon as practicable after a request to it under subsection (2), submit to the Minister a report on the matter the subject of the request and may include in the report any other matter connected with the subject matter of the request that it considers should be brought to the attention of the Minister.”.

PART 9 Regulations and Miscellaneous Provisions

55. Amendment of section 121(2) of Principal Act

55. Section 121(2) of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) the Authority;”.

56. Amendment of section 122 of Principal Act

56. Section 122 of the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) in subsection (1), the insertion of “and the Authority” after “after consulting with the Garda Commissioner”, and

(b) the deletion of subsections (2) and (3).

57. Amendment of section 123 of Principal Act

57. Section 123 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the insertion of “and the Authority” after “after consulting with the Garda Commissioner”,

(b) by the deletion of subsection (2) (b), and

(i) in paragraph (d), by the insertion of “a board, the Garda Commissioner, the Authority or the Government” for “a board, the Garda Commissioner or the Government”, and

(ii) in paragraph (e), by the insertion of “a board, the Garda Commissioner or the Authority” for “a board or the Garda Commissioner”.

58. Amendment of section 125(1) of Principal Act

58. Section 125(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of “and the Authority” after “after consulting with the Garda Commissioner”.

59. Continuation of certain regulations and order

59. (1) The regulations continued or made under the Principal Act before it was amended by this Act continue in force until they are revoked by the Minister under section 128 of the Principal Act or this section, as may be appropriate, or other regulations are made in their place under Part 6 of the Principal Act (as amended by this Part).

(2) The Minister may, with the approval of the Government, amend or revoke regulations continued in force under subsection (1) .

(3) An order made under subsection (5) of section 38 of the Principal Act before it was amended by section 31 continues in force until it is revoked by the Authority by order made with the approval of the Government or another order is made under that subsection of that section of the Principal Act in its place.

60. Amendment of section 18A of Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993

60. Section 18A (inserted by section 132 of the Principal Act) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 is amended by the substitution of “Garda Síochána and the Policing Authority as though they were Departments” for “Garda Síochána as though it were a Department”.

61. Review of operation

61. (1) The Minister shall, in consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, not later than 5 years after the establishment day of the Authority, review the operation of the amendments of the Principal Act made by this Act insofar as those amendments relate to the Authority.

(2) A review under subsection (1) shall be completed not later than one year after its commencement.

(3) Having completed the review, the Minister shall, in consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, prepare a report setting out such findings as the Minister considers appropriate consequent on such review.

(4) The Minister shall cause a copy of a report prepared under subsection (3) to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it has been prepared.

SCHEDULE Enactments Repealed

Section 7

Number and Year (1)	Short Title (2)	Extent of Repeal (3)
No. 31 of 1924	Dublin Police Act 1924	The whole Act
No. 7 of 1925	Police Forces Amalgamation Act 1925	Section 16
No. 10 of 1926	Police Forces Amalgamation (Amendment) Act 1926	The whole Act
No. 14 of 1958	Garda Síochána Act 1958	The whole Act
No. 20 of 2005	Garda Síochána Act 2005	Sections 33A to 33H

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