The Oireachtas Petitions and Public Service Oversight Committee held a private session tonight, following its discussions with members of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, including GSOC chairman Simon O’Brien, above.
Since this private session, the committee, chaired by Sinn Féin TD, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, has released the following statement:
The Committee has grave concerns about some of the issues raised during the detailed discussions with the Garda Ombudsman Commissioners. Serious questions remain unanswered. Reflecting on the need for further consideration of these matters, the Committee has decided:
To contact the GSOC requesting the unredacted reports by security company Verrimus, and any other related information in connection with the investigation into suspected surveillance at GSOC offices, be made available to the Committee on a confidential basis, and to invite the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter TD to address the Committee on these developments and to assess the approach he and his Department propose to take to respond to the concerns raised.
The Committee is undertaking this process conscious of the need to secure public confidence in the administration of justice.
Statement by Public Service Oversight Committee following meeting with GSOC (Oireachtas.ie)
