Garda sergeants and inspectors believe senior Garda management can no longer be trusted to have complete control over the suspension of members of the force if allegations of wrongdoing are made against them.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly are set for strong criticism when they address the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) annual conference in Co Mayo on Monday and Tuesday following the effective collapse of a major criminal investigation into a group of Garda members based in Limerick.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents more than 11,000 rank-and-file gardaí, has already accused O’Callaghan and Kelly of “closing ranks” and “singing from the same hymn sheet” in ruling out a public inquiry.
Many of the Garda members who stood accused were suspended from duty for six years. In January, however, four serving gardaí and a retired superintendent were acquitted of 39 charges after an eight-week trial. They had faced charges of perverting the course of justice over allegations of giving preferential treatment to individuals who were facing potential or pending road-traffic prosecutions.
Another three gardaí last week had 33 charges against them withdrawn just before they were due to go on trial. Other gardaí who were suspended from duty have been reinstated in recent weeks.
The investigation was carried out by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the force’s serious crimes squad, with 130 Garda members interviewed as part of the inquiry. It involved searches at the homes of some gardaí.
Garda members are entitled to use their discretion and, on request, to even cancel penalty points incurred by drivers. It was alleged that discretion was being abused by a group of gardaí. However, no findings of wrongdoing have been reached against any Garda member, including those suspended since 2019.
The AGSI is now calling on the Government to wrest control of the suspension process from Garda Headquarters and it wants a new independent oversight mechanism that would review each case. It says the suspension of gardaí in Limerick, including some who never faced any charges, for six years cannot be repeated.
“A system that leaves members suspended indefinitely, without clear timelines or independent oversight, is not a system that can command confidence,” said AGSI general secretary Ronan Clogher ahead of the association’s three-day annual conference in Westport.
The AGSI believes if a Garda member is suspended from duty for longer than one year the management of that suspension must be subject to oversight by an independent office. It pointed out the investigations often take years, adding that the suspended gardaí receive no updates, with no timelines set out, related to the completion of the inquiries into them.
AGSI delegates are also set to raise their concerns at the conference about abuse gardaí endure on social media, with the names of members and their home addresses being shared online. The association says this is being done by people they encounter during their duties and it wants “urgent supports, guidance and protection measures to be put in place”.
The association is also concerned about the demands that will be placed on the Garda organisation when Ireland assumes the European Union presidency in July for the second half of the year. It wants an assurance that the resources required to meet that challenge will be in place.
“Crime will not stop for the EU presidency, and our members are already stretched,” said AGSI president Declan Higgins. He added his members wanted “assurances from both Government and Garda management that the organisation has the capacity to meet these demands without impacting day-to-day policing”.