Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024
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Conduct Regulations | ||
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257. (1) Subject to section 252 (2), the Minister may, having consulted with the Garda Commissioner and the Police Ombudsman, make regulations providing for the procedures under which An Garda Síochána may address misconduct by a member of An Garda Síochána (in this Act referred to as the “Conduct Regulations”). | ||
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Conduct Regulations may make provision for the following matters: | ||
(a) the criteria and procedures by which it is to be determined that the regulations are to apply in respect of the alleged misconduct of a member of An Garda Síochána; | ||
(b) the criteria and procedures by which the degree of seriousness of the alleged misconduct by a member of An Garda Síochána may be assessed; | ||
(c) the procedures to apply in addressing alleged misconduct by a member of An Garda Síochána, including— | ||
(i) the conduct, where appropriate, of an investigation into the alleged misconduct of the member concerned, | ||
(ii) the appointment of a person to conduct such an investigation, | ||
(iii) the manner in which such an investigation is to be conducted, | ||
(iv) the suspension of the member concerned under section 30 , 48 or 50 (3), | ||
(v) the bringing of proceedings under the regulations against the member concerned for the purposes of the consideration of whether the imposition of a disciplinary sanction on the person is warranted (in this section referred to as “relevant proceedings”), including— | ||
(I) the matters that may be taken into account in such proceedings, | ||
(II) the appointment of a person or a panel of persons to conduct such proceedings, | ||
(III) the procedures to apply to the conduct of such proceedings, | ||
(IV) the circumstances in which the member concerned may seek a review of, or bring an appeal against, a finding made, or a disciplinary sanction proposed, under the regulations, | ||
(V) the procedures to apply to the conduct of a review or appeal referred to in clause (IV), and | ||
(VI) the disciplinary sanction that may be imposed on the member concerned under the regulations, | ||
(vi) the fair procedures to apply to the member concerned in the conduct of an investigation or relevant proceedings under the regulations, including the circumstances in which the member concerned may be legally represented, | ||
(vii) the powers of a person appointed to conduct an investigation pursuant to subparagraph (ii) or a person or panel of persons appointed to conduct relevant proceedings pursuant to subparagraph (v)(II), including the power to require a person to— | ||
(I) cooperate with such an investigation or proceedings in such a manner as may be specified in the regulations, | ||
(II) provide any information or documents required, | ||
(III) attend for an interview, meeting or hearing as required, | ||
(IV) give a truthful account of any matter under investigation or the subject of relevant proceedings, or | ||
(V) truthfully answer any questions put to him or her during the investigation or relevant proceedings, | ||
and | ||
(viii) the consequences that may apply to a person who does not cooperate with a person appointed to conduct an investigation pursuant to subparagraph (ii) or a person or panel of persons appointed to conduct relevant proceedings pursuant to subparagraph (v)(II) in the exercise of his or her powers; | ||
(d) the criteria to apply in referring alleged misconduct by a member the subject of an investigation or relevant proceedings under the regulations to be dealt with under the Performance Regulations; | ||
(e) the retention of records relating to any matter dealt with under the regulations; | ||
(f) the procedures to apply where a copy of a report has been provided to the Garda Commissioner by the Police Ombudsman under section 215 in relation to a member of An Garda Síochána that discloses a matter that should be dealt with under the Conduct Regulations; | ||
(g) where the report referred to in paragraph (f) concerns a member of An Garda Síochána who is no longer such a member at the time that the report is received by the Garda Commissioner, the circumstances in which a finding in the report and the recommendation of the Police Ombudsman may be recorded in the employment record of the member, and the information shared with other persons. | ||
(3) The Conduct Regulations may apply in respect of the misconduct of a member of An Garda Síochána notwithstanding that— | ||
(a) he or she has been convicted or acquitted of an offence in respect of the matter that constitutes the misconduct, | ||
(b) a charge against the member concerned in respect of an offence referred to in paragraph (a) has been dismissed under section 4E of the Criminal Procedure Act 1967 , | ||
(c) proceedings against the member concerned for an offence referred to in paragraph (a) have been discontinued, or | ||
(d) the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to institute a prosecution in relation to the matter that constitutes the misconduct. | ||
(4) The Conduct Regulations may make different provision— | ||
(a) depending on the degree of seriousness of the alleged misconduct of a member of An Garda Síochána, or | ||
(b) for different categories of members or ranks of An Garda Síochána. | ||
(5) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), the Conduct Regulations shall apply to the misconduct of a member of An Garda Síochána regardless of whether the misconduct occurred prior to or after the coming into operation of this section. | ||
(6) The Conduct Regulations shall not apply to the misconduct of a member of An Garda Síochána that occurred prior to the coming into operation of this section and in relation to which disciplinary proceedings (within the meaning of the Regulations of 2007) had been commenced but not concluded under the Regulations of 2007 on the date of such coming into operation. | ||
(7) Any disciplinary sanction imposed on a member of An Garda Síochána under the Conduct Regulations in relation to misconduct that occurred prior to the coming into operation of this section shall not exceed the sanction that could have been imposed in respect of that breach at the time the breach occurred. | ||
(8) In this section— | ||
“disciplinary sanction” means— | ||
(a) a written warning, | ||
(b) temporary reduction in pay not exceeding 2 weeks’ pay, | ||
(c) a final written warning, or | ||
(d) dismissal; | ||
“misconduct”, in relation to the conduct of a member of An Garda Síochána— | ||
(a) occurring after the coming into operation of this section, means— | ||
(i) a breach by the member of the standards of professional behaviour, or | ||
(ii) a failure by the member to cooperate with— | ||
(I) any measures taken under the Performance Regulations in respect of his or her unsatisfactory performance or unsatisfactory attendance, | ||
(II) an investigation (within the meaning of Part 6 ), | ||
(III) an investigation under section 227 , or | ||
(IV) a person appointed to conduct an investigation pursuant to subsection (2)(c)(ii) or a person or panel of persons appointed to conduct relevant proceedings pursuant to subsection (2)(c)(v)(II), | ||
and | ||
(b) occurring before the coming into operation of this section, means conduct that would, at the time it occurred, have been a breach of discipline within the meaning of the Regulations of 2007; | ||
“Regulations of 2007” means the Garda Síochána (Discipline) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 214 of 2007 ). |