Madam, – Dr Vicky Conway’s implication (February 9th) that members of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission may not be impartial because their parents were gardaí is risible. Perhaps such an argument could be made if the commissioners themselves had been gardaí, but for the purpose of identifying bias – or even the perception thereof – the connection identified is tenuous in the extreme.
Dermot Gallagher, Carmel Foley and Conor Brady are public servants of the highest integrity who have made sterling contributions to national life during their respective careers. Critiques of their oversight of policing should be based on hard evidence, rather than on irrelevant considerations. – Yours, etc,