THE MAJORITY of complaints made against the Garda were groundless, Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has said.
Responding to figures published in the final annual report from the now defunct Garda complaints board, the commissioner said there would always be people who would make complaints against the force.
"It was interesting to see the figures because over 80 per cent of the complaints made in the five-month period of the review were found to be nothing in them," he said.
In his commentary on the figures, former chairman of the board Dr Gordon Holmes said when it came to investigating complaints it was often the case that it was the member of the public's word against the garda's. Moreover, when a case could not be proved the board had to find there had been no breach of discipline.
Asked about the problem of gardaí closing ranks against complaints, the commissioner said there had been many changes to remedy this eventuality. "We've a whistleblowers' charter, we have new discipline regulations, we have the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. We've more openness and accountability."
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said the Government must adequately fund the new Garda Ombudsman Commission to ensure all complaints were investigated independently.
Acting director of the ICCL Tanya Ward pointed to comments from Dr Holmes in his foreword to the report. He said: "The new commission, with their many resources, are now seeking to have minor matters investigated by the gardaí themselves - the very criticism that was levelled against the board in the past and to which the board itself so frequently drew attention."
If anything had been learned from the experience of the board it was that all complaints against the force must be investigated independently, said Ms Ward.
"Due to a backlog of cases and inadequate funding, the new Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is now considering leasing back the investigation of complaints to the Garda Commissioner.
"It is of serious concern that after waiting nearly 20 years for a fully independent Garda complaints body, not all complaints may be fully independently investigated."