The Garda Commissioner has rejected suggestions by the chairman of the Garda Complaints Board, Gordon Holmes, that the force has a "total inability" to apologise for its errors. Conor Lally, Crime Correspondent, reports.
In a statement unprecedented in its firmness issued from Garda Headquarters yesterday, Noel Conroy also disputed suggestions that he had regularly failed to take disciplinary action against Garda members whose cases were referred to him by the complaints board.
Mr Holmes had described Mr Conroy's alleged inaction as "unsatisfactory in the extreme".
The head of the Garda Press Office Supt Kevin Donohoe said while the statement from Mr Conroy was a strong one, Mr Holmes has said things that Mr Conroy "could not let go by".
Referring to remarks on the Garda's "total inability" to apologise, made by Mr Holmes in the annual report of the Garda Complaints Board published on Wednesday, Mr Conroy said in his statement:
"This is rejected by An Garda Síochána. In many instances individuals or the organisation have apologised from wrong doings."
He said the Garda was guided by legal advice in relation to making apologies. However, where genuine mistakes were made and subject to not jeopardising future criminal cases "the gardaí have no problem in apologising".
Mr Conroy also corrected Mr Holmes's assertion that a Garda commissioner had the power of veto over any decision of the complaints board. Nor did a Garda commissioner have "any legal basis for overruling or overturning such decisions".
The statement, which is three pages long, is without precedent in Mr Conroy's tenure as Garda Commissioner.
Mr Holmes and Mr Conroy have always enjoyed good relations. Mr Holmes would be seen by most senior officers as having a strong history of support for An Garda Síochána and the gulf in opinions between the two men is seen as very surprising.
Mr Holmes had also complained that the force was unwilling to use informal complaints resolution mechanisms because such a process involved an admission of wrong-doing.
Mr Conroy said the cases referred to him were in respect of complaints which "may" have involved breaches of discipline. A referral did not represent a determination by the complaints board of wrong-doing on behalf of a member.
Mr Conroy said all such complaints were investigated fully and he personally made a final determination. Of the 63 cases referred last year Mr Conroy disciplined 35 members, eight cases remained ongoing at the end of the year.
In the remaining 20 cases no breach of discipline was adjudged to have taken place.
Cases can been referred by the board to the Garda Commissioner if the board believes a minor breach of discipline may have occurred that could best be handled by the Garda authorities.
Mr Conroy's statement further pointed out that in other cases seven members were dismissed from the force last year after internal investigations.
While only a small number of complaints were resolved informally, it was the right of every member to opt for a more formal avenue of resolution.
Mr Conroy said he was concerned at the manner in which complaints made to the complaints board against Garda members had increased last year, to 814 from 650.
However, he said An Garda Síochána conducted over one million "interactions" with members of the public.
The level of complaints represented less than 0.1 per cent of those interactions.
The Garda Complaints Board is no longer accepting complaints against members of the force. That role has been assumed by the new Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.