On 13 May, 2014 the Government agreed to the establishment of a mechanism for the independent review of certain allegations of Garda misconduct, or inadequacies in the investigation of the allegations, which have been made to the Minister for Justice, or the Taoiseach, with a view to determining to what extent and in what manner further action may be required in each case.

 

In five cases the setting up of inquiries was recommended by counsel on the Panel of the independent review mechanism.  Three cases were recommended to be the subject of special inquiries relating to the Garda Síochána under section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 while the other two cases were recommended for non-statutory inquiries.  Following the advice of the Attorney General the Minister decided that all five inquiries should be established under section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act to ensure that the persons conducting the inquiries have the necessary powers to call witnesses before them and require the production of any relevant documentation.

 

On 15th May 2017 the Minister made orders establishing these inquiries.  The five inquiries and the persons appointed to conduct them are as follows:

 

The Terms of Reference for the inquiries are contained in the Schedules to the relevant orders, which together with the contact details for the judges conducting the inquiries can be found on the website for each individual inquiry.