GRA MEMBER: MEMBERS CANNOT HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GSOC
A leading member of the Garda Representative Association says its members cannot have confidence in the Garda Ombudsman Commission as long as it is not answerable to an independent body.
Yesterday in the Dáil former justice minister Alan Shatter called for the head of GSOC Simon O’Brien to resign.
The Fine Gael TD criticised the organisation’s hierarchy, saying they covered up their own incompetence and the issue of a leak from the office has not yet been resolved.
Vice president of the Garda Representative Association, Ciaran O’Neill, says while there is a judicial review system for issues with GSOC, it is not enough.
“What I’m saying (is) that there is difficultly – we have to have confidence in a body, but we can’t have confidence in a body that has no oversight” he said.
“That’s our problem, our situation – we don’t have an avenue, if there is issue if we have in the way we’re bring dealt with, to go to”.
“There’s no body – there’s a review or an independent judicial review – but that’s not likely to happen for small or minor breaches” he added.
