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Key garda-oversight appointments approved

The Government has approved several appointments under new legislation that makes changes in the oversight of An Garda Síochána.

At a meeting yesterday (15 October), the Government designated barrister Dr Elaine Byrne as the first chair of the new Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA), which amalgamates the current Policing Authority and Garda Inspectorate.

Ministers also nominated Mr Justice George Birmingham, who recently retired as President of the Court of Appeal, as the first Independent Examiner of Security Legislation.

This new role provides for the independent review of security legislation and security arrangements.

Garda Board

The Government also appointed Dr Donal de Buitléir, who has served on the Policing Authority since 2021, as chair the newly created Garda Board.

Members of the PCSA and Garda Board, selected through the state-boards process run by Public Jobs, were also appointed.

The new roles are being created under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.

The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that she intended to commence the act on 16 December, when all the new appointees will take up their roles.

Former DPP on Garda Board

The new members of the PCSA include Nessa Lynch, who is Matheson lecturer in Law, Innovation and Technology in the School of Law at University College Cork, and Legal Aid Board member Freda McKittrick. The full list of PCSA members is:

• Joe Costello,
• Michael Feehan,
• Nessa Lynch,
• Martina Maloney,
• Freda McKittrick,
• Tony O’Brien,
• Ken O’Leary, and
• Emma Reidy.

The current chief executive of the Policing Authority Helen Hall has also been named as chief executive of the PCSA.

The Garda Board members include the former Director of Public Prosecutions Claire Loftus. The full list of members is:

• Catherine Corbett,
• Helen Faughnan,
• Anthony Harbinson,
• Claire Loftus,
• Sinead McSweeney,
• Jack Nolan,
• Michael Patten, and
• Suzanne Tracy.