MR Seamus McKenna SC has been reappointed chairman of the Garda Siochana Complaints Board, membership of which was announced by the Minister for Justice yesterday.
The new board, which will serve for five years, includes assistant Garda Commissioner Mr James McHugh. The other members are Ms Mary Linehan, Ms Helen Hoare, Mr Terence Cosgrave, Mr Odran Reid, Mr Dermot O'Callaghan, Mr Stephen McCullen and Ms Marie Hennessy. Mr McKenna, who is also a former chairman of the Bar Council, has headed the board since its inception.
The board was set up under a 1986 Act to investigate complaints by members of the public against the gardai. Reviewing the first three years of its operation in 1990, he suggested it should be properly funded or abolished because of the backlog of cases with which it had been unable to deal.
At that time, complaints were falling off because of lack of confidence in its operation, but in 1995, the latest year for which figures are available, it dealt with more than 1,100 complaints, the highest ever and nearly 35 per cent up on 1990.
In 154 cases, the complaints were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions, with only one of these resulting in prosecution. The board's 1995 report noted that where a serious complaint alleges a criminal offence by a garda, it must be referred to the DPP, and suggested there should be more discretion in the matter.
