The number of complaints against gardaí increased by 5 per cent last year, a report revealed today.
The Garda Síochána Complaints Board (GSCB) said it had dealt with 1,232 complaints about members of the force.
Its annual report for 2004 showed that there was a 13 per cent increase in complaints of abuse of authority by gardaí and a 12 per cent increase in complaints of discourtesy.
Around 640 complaints were deemed inadmissible by the board, and another 302 were withdrawn. The board referred 31 cases of minor breaches of discipline to Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy.
"The commissioner informed the board that he had decided to issue a warning to a member in four cases, issue advice in 15 cases and to take no further action in three cases," the report said. It added the board was awaiting his decision in the remaining nine cases.
The board referred 27 cases of serious breaches of discipline to the Complaints Tribunal last year, compared with 14 in 2003. Under its founding Act, the board is required to send allegations of serious offences to the Director of Public Prosecutions, and it referred 240 complaints last year.
The DPP decided to prosecute three gardaí on the basis of two of the complaints.
"The board was satisfied, however, that in the majority of the files it referred to the DPP, no evidence existed which would warrant the prosecution of the members complained of," the report said.
Unveiling the report Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell noted the progress made by the board in 2004 and the reduction in the backlog of cases to be dealt with by 21 per cent from 600 in 2003 to 473 in 2004.
He welcomed the fact that the average processing time has been reduced to an average of five months.
The Minister also welcomed the board’s support for the bill before the Oireachtas, which will see the Garda Complaints Board replaced with an Ombudsman Commission.
In his opening remarks in the annual report, GSCB chairman Gordon Holmes backed the bill but warned adequate resources were needed for the Ombudsman to fulfil its role.
"The budget enjoyed by the Ombudsman in the North of Ireland is approximately 15 times the budget enjoyed by the Garda Complaints Board in the Republic," he said. "It is also noteworthy that whilst we have a staff of 22, the Ombudsman’s Office in the North has a staff of 120."
Mr Holmes went on to specifically mention the gardaí who stood trial arising from the "Reclaim the Streets" protest in 2002. He said the board fulfilled its duty in dealing with these problems and ensured the files were sent to the Director of Public Prosecution in good time.
"Once the complaints against individual gardaí were dealt with by a jury in an open Court, no one can complain about the result. The evidence was adduced. The judge summed up. The jury gave their verdict. That is our legal system at work."
Mr Holmes also pointed out that the GSCB had lobbied Goverment to give more "teeth to its powers and to improve its investigative process."
One of the powers he identified that the Board would have welcomed was the "ability compel members of the Gardaí to answer questions in connection with any complaint."
This power was never given to the Board and, according to Mr Holmes, the result was that frequently investigations were met with "wall of silence – a problem internationally known as The Blue Wall."
Copies of the Complaints Board's 2004 Annual Report are available on the board's website - www.gscb.ie - or may be purchased through any bookseller or directly from the Government Publications Sale Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.
Additional reporting PA