GSOC Publishes Protected Disclosures Annual Report 2018

GSOC Receives 24 Protected Disclosures in 2018

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) received 24 protected disclosures from gardaí in 2018.

The disclosures brought to 49 the number being dealt with by GSOC’s Protected Disclosures Unit in 2018, adding to 25 that were still being examined or investigated at the end of the previous year (2017).

The figures are contained in GSOC’s 2018 Annual Report on Protected Disclosures which has now been published.

The first full-time GSOC investigators were allocated to the new Protected Disclosures Unit in March 2018.

The Ombudsman Commission had previously identified the need for a separate unit within GSOC which would deal solely with protected disclosures and had made a business case for additional staff. Sanction for five staff for the unit was granted in late 2017, and in November 2018 sanction was given for another five staff to deal with the growing number of protected disclosures being received by GSOC.

Four investigating officers were working in the unit by the end of 2018, with another five investigating officers and an analyst set to join the unit during 2019.

The figures contained in the GSOC Annual Report on Protected Disclosures refer to protected disclosures made by gardaí to the three Ombudsman Commissioners.

Figures for protected disclosures made by gardaí and staff of the Garda Síochána to their employers are a matter for the Garda Síochána.