At Cabinet yesterday, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, TD presented the 2019 Annual Report of the Policing Authority to the Government. The report provides an account of the activities of the Policing Authority in its fourth year of operation.
The Policing Authority is an independent statutory body established to oversee the performance of An Garda Síochána in relation to policing services, to promote public awareness of policing matters and to promote and support the continuous improvements in policing in Ireland. The activities of the Policing Authority in 2019 are set out in its annual report.
Following the Cabinet meeting, Minister Flanagan said:
The high rate of activity by the Policing Authority in 2019 – including 48 senior appointments to An Garda Síochána, 15 meetings of the Authority and 13 between the Authority and the Commissioner as well as 11 publications– underscores the dedication of all members and staff of the Authority. They have made an important contribution throughout 2019, across the full range of the Authority’s mandate. I am grateful to Chairperson Bob Collins and the whole Authority team for this work.
Minister Flanagan continued,
I am also grateful to the Authority for agreeing to my request that it should assess and report regularly to me on the use by An Garda Síochána of the temporary additional powers provided for in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. I am confident that this independent reporting will contribute to public confidence in An Garda Síochána and in the appropriate and proportionate application of these measures. I know that the Authority is consulting with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and other bodies including a number of NGOs in relation to this task and I look forward to the further reports of the Authority on this issue in due course.
Among the 48 senior appointments made to An Garda Síochána in 2019 were one Executive Director and nine Chief Superintendents. A competition for Assistant Commissioners was advertised in December 2019 and the Authority has appointed two Assistant Commissioners from that competition to date in 2020.
Minister Flanagan added,
This report demonstrates again the capacity of the Authority to engage intensively with An Garda Síochána and maintain a sustained focus on achievements on the ground, during this period of intensive reform in policing in Ireland. This contributes to a stronger Garda Síochána, better suited to meeting future challenges, and enhanced public confidence in policing in Ireland.
The Minister concluded,
I would like to join with the Chairperson of the Authority, Bob Collins, in thanking the previous Chairperson, Ms. Josephine Feehily, whose term of office finished on 31 December 2019. She played a leading part in establishing the Policing Authority, and worked tirelessly to build the Authority into an essential component of the robust Garda Síochána oversight we have today.