Inclined to agree with Corelli on this one. Now back to the substantive issue which is the appointment of the new Garda Ombudsman and what that portends.
In certain quarters, he is seen as an able dealer and no doubt with good reason. He was known to have given sterling service in the Foreign Affairs posting and deserves to be well thought of for that reason.
But is he the man for the Garda Ombudsman appointment ? Time will tell.
It certainly is not nonsense. She is the protector of the constitution. If the appointment appears to be unconstitutional she may call the COS.Originally Posted by corelli
Thats absolute nonsense. Point me to where in the constitution it says the President may refuse to appoint anyone when recommended by the Government? Absolutely nowhere.
She HAS to appoint who the Government nominate. Addressing the Oireachtas has nothing to do with the matter. Neither does the Council of State or her constitutional functions in relation to referring certain bills to the Supreme Court.
Finally, the President appointing the members is nowhere in the Legislation. It is merely a matter of courtesy. The actual appointment is made by the Government.
Can we now get back to the substantive issue!!
She called the COS on the nursing home issue to discuss its constitutionality.
That is the last I am saying on that as I do not want it to take away from that big word favoured by counsel -when they get lost or tongue tied in the middle of a case and need time while they find their notes- the substantive issue.
The appointment of the Chairman of a Commission as important as the GSOC is a very very important decision and if incorrectly done could impinge on the credibility of the whole commission.
The GSOC is in enough of a crisis at the moment.
They are way behind in their investigations, by their own admission they have only opened three inquiries in the public interest and by their own admission do not know when they will conclude these investigations.
QUOTE:[COLOR="Red"]Investigations of this nature are complex and time-consuming. As a consequence GSOC does not indicate the possible length of time it might take to bring any one of the investigations to a conclusion.[/COLOR]
GSOC - Garda Sochna Ombudsman Commission.
Only 3 public interest inquiries opened in all their time and not one concluded. What sort of a message does that convey?
Would they have opened an inquiry on Donegal if they were established at the time?
Will they open a public interest inquiry on the Serious issues in the Cavan/monaghan Garda Division
Will they open a public interest inquiry in the case of the Garda who stopped the Minister for Justice in a speeding state car
Will they open a public interest inquiry into the treatment of a Sergeant in Clare following the murder of three persons in Clare by Brendan O'Donnell?
I know of one instance where a complainant was contacted by the GSOC over twelve months ago to state that they were commencing an investigation into their complaints.
11 months later the same complainants, following public exposure- received a communication from the GSOC stating that they were about to commence deciding if the complaint was admissible.
That's a disgrace and shows me that the GSOC are prepared to brush complaints under the carpet where the complaint would impinge on the Garda hierarchy or the Government departments.
And will only resurrect it again when the heat comes on.
The manner of the appointment of Dermot Gallagher will further affect a commission that is already in crisis and will further affect the credibility of the commission and affect the credibility of the Chairman.
In its present crisis the GSOC needs to be seen to be totally independent and needs to be seen to be led by a Chairman who is totally independent and who is well experienced in such matters.
My conclusion: The GSOC needs a totally independent Chairman with outstanding qualifications in this field who has not been pally wally with government ministers down through the years who is democratically appointed in an open and transparent manner.
Dermot Gallagher does not fall into that category
Last edited by perprojustice; 7th February 2009 at 01:10 PM.
Thats arrant nonsense. Where did you go to school?
She summoned the Council of State to discuss the HEALTH BILL, re nursing home issues, with a view to REFERRING it to the Supreme Court. That is a constitutional function.
SHE HAS NO constitutional function referring acts of the Government to the Supreme Court.
With respect, you have a very wooly understanding of the Presidents constitutional functions.
I read someplace that when the opponent reverts to SHOUTING and to derogatory remarks that they really do not know much.
Now stop bunging up this very important thread with side issues. Viewers thought enough of this thread to give it 5 stars so show some respect for them.
Start a thread on the president and her functions as protector of the constitution and we may start exchanging our proofs there as it will then be the substantive issue.
BTW what do you think of the rest of my post?
Last edited by perprojustice; 7th February 2009 at 01:54 PM.
Anyone wanting a rundown on how important the work of the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission can be, should watch tonight's Prime Time Investigates when it is up on the RTÉ website.
The programme is just coming to an end but the story it has told tonight is far from over.
The role of GSOC features in the second half of Rita O'Reilly's report which describes the terrifying consequences for a couple who told Gardai about a drug dealer in their area.
Whatever brings you to politics.ie, you need to know about this story.
RTÉ.ie Media Player: Prime Time Investigates 2 March 2009
found that programme pretty frightening in fairness...is anything operaating as it should in this country at all?
That is a fair question. On what we saw in Prime Time last night, the list just got shorter.
Last edited by He3; 3rd March 2009 at 10:43 AM.
Look what happened to the FOI act.
Any real transparency or accountability was an issue for this goverment.
The nation is coming to realise that now.
Its only a chat, we ain't the world council.
In 2000 the Women's Institute in Britain gave Tony Blair the slow hand clap to demonstrate their contempt.
[COLOR="Red"]It was dignified, restrained and effective.[/COLOR]Doesn't Bertie deserve the same scorn. No shouting, no abuse, no agression just a relentless slow clap whenever he speaks in public would be enough to end that man's presidential fantasy.
-3.75,-3.23
have been away for a few weeks and basically nothing has changed in this country of ours. For some reason I am unable to open that link but I am aware of what happened there.
During my travels I have visited the ECHR. I do not need to tell you what they think about our corrupt country.
They cannot understand why it is allowed to continue. It will continue as long as senior posts are filled by political appointees
The Garda Ombudsman commission is in a shambles. I blame the government and in particular successive minister's for justice.
The case of the harassment and intimidation of the Garda who stopped John ODonoghue was recently brought to the attention of the Minister for Justice and I have been informed that he wrote back strongly advising the Garda to have the Garda Ombudsman investigate it.
However Gardai are disbarred from making complaints to the Garda Ombudsman for some very strange reason.
Surely the Minister for Justice knows this.
The Minister for Justice is empowered to ask the Garda Ombudsman to investigate it in the public interest.
Does he know this? surely he does!
He is also empowered under the Garda Siochana Act 2005 to have Garda procedures investigated.
Why does he not exercise that right when he is so concerned at what he has read about the whole affair and is so anxious that the Ombudsman investigates it.?
Where are we going when the Minister does not know the proceedures pertaining to his office.
The other sad part about it is that the Garda Ombudsman was asked to investigate almost two years ago-by civilians who have been affected by the actions of the Gardai- and to date have failed to do so, quoting "pressure of work"
It appears that our Ombudsman Commission is in a lot of bother.
Those poor well meaning citizens are in far worse bother now .
Last edited by perprojustice; 3rd March 2009 at 03:24 PM.
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