Collins welcomes appointment of Josephine Feehily to policing authority
Published on: 13 November 2014
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Justice Niall Collins has welcomed the appointment of outgoing Revenue Chairperson Josephine Feehily to the new independent policing authority.
Deputy Collins commented: “The role of Chair of the new Garda Authority will be central in providing the necessary leadership and support to An Garda Síochána at a time of great change for the force. Ms. Feehily will bring a large amount of administrative and leadership experience to the position but the scale of challenge facing the authority and the gardaí cannot be underestimated.
“Key to Ms Feehily’s role will be the creation of a culture of openness and accountability within our police service. The management of An Garda Síochána must reengage with the rank and file members of the force who carry out the front line duties on behalf of our citizens. There are structural challenges for the force but there are also morale issues to address.
“Garda management needs to show more leadership and provide more supervision and oversight in the day to day operations of the force. This is a central recommendation in the recent Garda Inspectorate Report. The lack of this supervision and oversight was also one of the key reasons for the failures outlined in the Guerin Report and is becoming a common theme in these investigations.
“The new Garda Authority, along with the new Garda Commissioner, have the opportunity to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of both the Guerin and Garda Inspectorate reports. This is a historic opportunity to recreate a world class police service which we can all be proud of.
“I wish Ms Feehily the very best in this task and I look forward to engaging with her at the Oireachtas Justice Committee in due course.”