Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986
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Restriction of application Act and restriction of application and amendment of Regulations and Dublin Police Act, 1924. |
15.— (1) (a) This Act shall not apply in relation to conduct alleged in a complaint if, before the date on which the complaint is received— | |
(i) the Commissioner had appointed a member or members of the Garda Síochána to hold an inquiry under the Regulations into the conduct, or | ||
(ii) a person had been nominated by the Minister under section 12 of the Dublin Police Act, 1924 , to hold an inquiry into the conduct. | ||
(b) (i) The Commissioner may dismiss a member not above the rank of inspector in accordance with the Regulations notwithstanding that an admissible complaint has been made against the member and for this purpose the relevant provisions of the Regulations shall apply with any necessary modifications; and in any such case this Act shall not apply or, as the case may be, shall cease to apply in relation to the conduct alleged in the complaint. | ||
(ii) Nothing in this Act shall affect— | ||
(I) the power of the Commissioner under the Regulations to suspend from duty for a specified period; or | ||
(II) the power of the Government under section 7 (2) or 10 (4) of the Act of 1925 in relation to removal from office or, as the case may be, dismissal or reduction in rank and, where the Government exercise such a power, this Act shall not apply or, as the case may be, shall cease to apply in relation to the conduct alleged in the complaint notwithstanding that an admissible complaint has been made against the member concerned. | ||
(2) Where— | ||
(a) conduct of a member is being or has been investigated under the Regulations, | ||
(b) the Commissioner has not appointed a member or members of the Garda Síochána to hold an inquiry under the Regulations into the conduct, and | ||
(c) a complaint is made in relation to the conduct, | ||
the complaint shall be investigated under this Act and the investigation under the Regulations, and any statement made in connection therewith, shall be deemed to have been made under and for the purposes of this Act. | ||
(3) Neither the Regulations nor the said section 12 shall apply in relation to conduct alleged in an admissible complaint if, before the date on which the complaint was made, a person had not been appointed under the Regulations or nominated under the said section 12, as the case may be, to hold an inquiry into the conduct. | ||
(4) The said section 12 is hereby amended— | ||
(a) in subsection (1), by the deletion of “for the Commissioner or for any other member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police not being of lower rank than Inspector nominated for that purpose by the Commissioner, or”, and | ||
(b) in subsection (2), by the substitution of “a fine not exceeding £700 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both” for “a fine not exceeding twenty pounds or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a period not exceeding three months”. | ||
(5) The Regulations may provide that a person who is duly notified that he is required to attend at an inquiry being or to be held under the Regulations in relation to an alleged breach of discipline by a member and who neglects or refuses to attend at such inquiry or, in the case of a person other than the member aforesaid or his spouse, refuses to give evidence thereat shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £700 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both. | ||
(6) References in the preceding subsections of this section to the said section 12 are references to that section as adapted by section 18 of the Act of 1925. | ||
(7) In this section “the Regulations” means any regulations under section 14 of the Act of 1925 in relation to discipline for the time being in force. |