GSOC welcomes Government approval for recruitment of senior leadership posts for new Office of Police Ombudsman; publishes 6-year overview of GSOC work

Friday 27 October 2023

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) today (Friday 27 October 2023) welcomed confirmation that Government and the Department of Public Expenditure (DPER) have greenlit the recruitment of the senior leadership posts for the Office of the Police Ombudsman, which is expected to replace GSOC in 2024 under the provisions of the forthcoming Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill.

The Bill, currently awaiting Committee Stage in Seanad Éireann, provides for the creation of a new Office of the Police Ombudsman to replace GSOC, operating under the leadership of an Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman, with a CEO acting as accounting officer answerable directly to the Oireachtas.

Commenting today, GSOC Chairperson Rory MacCabe said:

“Recruitment and appointment of our successor organisation’s new leadership represent an important step in our organisational transition to the Office of the Police Ombudsman, and we warmly welcome news that this process will begin shortly.

My Commission colleagues and I look forward to working with the new designate senior leadership team as the organisation transitions to the new Office of the Police Ombudsman”

GSOC was further pleased today to receive cabinet approval of its “Statutory Overview Report 2017-2022”. This is the third statutory overview report published by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission since its establishment in 2007. Such reports usually cover a period of five years of the agency’s operation. This report covers six years – 2017 to 2022 – in order to provide a more complete overview of GSOC’s recent years of operation, in advance of its expected transition to a reformed and expanded Office of the Police Ombudsman in 2024.

ENDS

NOTE

Organisational reform and the passage of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill is currently making its way through the Oireachtas. It was passed by Dáil Éireann on 12 July 2023, and will shortly commence Committee Stage in Seanad Éireann.

The broad-ranging draft legislation seeks to address some of the key recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing, amongst which was the expansion of the powers and remit of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission via its replacement with a new police oversight and complaints body, the Office of the Police Ombudsman.

GSOC issued observations on the scheme of the bill in December 2021, available on GSOC’s website HERE, and published expanded observations and analysis of the published bill in February 2023, available HERE.

GSOC’s observations broadly welcome the draft legislation’s proposals for the expansion and restructuring of its investigatory powers, but raises significant concerns regarding institutional independence, adequate resourcing and Garda cooperation.

GSOC intends to engage with Seanad Éireann in the coming Committee Stage to continue to raise these concerns.

GSOC’s Statutory Overview Report 2017-2022

This is the third statutory overview report published by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission since its establishment in 2007. Such reports usually cover a period of five years of the agency’s operation. This report covers six years – 2017 to 2022 – in order to provide a more complete overview of GSOC’s recent years of operation, in advance of its expected transition to a reformed and expanded Office of the Police Ombudsman in 2024.

It can be downloaded HERE. Tá leagan Gaeilge ar fáil ANSEO.