Protests at the proposed Royal Dutch Shell Corrib gas refinery in Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo have seen a large Garda operation at its construction sites with up to 200 Gardaí involved, making it the single biggest policing operation in the country at times. By September 2008, the cost of the operation was €10 Million and is estimated to have cost €13.5 Million by the end of January 2009. This is comparable to the €20 Million budgeted for Operation Anvil, targeting organised crime, criminal gangs and their associates. A section of road used by the protesters has been dubbed "the Golden Mile" by Gardaí because of the overtime opportunities. Complaints have been made about the Garda handling of the protests and several TDs, including former Green Party leader Trevor Sargent have criticised the Garda's handling of the situation.
Partly as a result of some of the above incidents, the Garda Síochána has undergone a number of reforms in recent years. The Morris Tribunal in particular recommended major changes to the way the force's management, discipline, promotion and accountability arrangements. Many of these recommendations were enacted by the Garda Síochána Act 2005.
Mr Justice Morris also said that the code of discipline was extremely complex and, at times, "cynically manipulated" to promote indiscipline across the force. Judicial reviews, for example, were cited as a means for delaying disciplinary action.
The fall-out form the Morris Tribunal was considerable. While fifteen members of the force were sacked between 2001 and 2006, and a further 42 resigned instead of being dismissed, Commissioner Conroy said that he was limited in what he could do to deal with members whose misbehaviour is cited in public inquiries.
With strong support from opposition parties, and reflecting widespread political consensus, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform responded to many of these issues by announcing a new draft code of discipline on 17 August 2006. The new streamlined code introduced new procedures to enable the Commissioner to summarily dismiss a Garda alleged to have brought the force into disrepute, abandoned duties, compromised the security of the State or unjustifiably infringed the rights of other persons.
In addition, a four-member "non officer management advisory team" was appointed in August 2006 to advise on implementing change options and addressing management and leadership challenges facing the Gardaí. The advisers were also mandated to promote the ideas of performance management, succession planning, recruitment of non officers with specialist expertise, and improved training. The advisory team included Senator Maurice Hayes, Emer Daly (former director of strategic planning and risk management at Axa Insurance), Maurice Keane (former group chief executive at Bank of Ireland), Michael Flahive (Assistant Secretary at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform) and Dr Michael Mulreany (assistant director general at the Institute of Public Administration).
Clerical and administrative support has been greatly increased in recent times. In the two-year period from December 2006 to December 2008 whole-time equivalent civilian staffing levels were increased by over 60%, from under 1,300 to approximately 2,100, in furtherance of official policies to release more desk-bound Gardaí for operational duties and to bring the level of general support in line with international norms. A new tier of middle and senior non officer management has also been introduced in a range of administrative and technical/professional support areas. A Chief Administrative Officer at Deputy Commissioner level was appointed in October 2007 to oversee many of these key support functions.
In accordance with Section 115 of the Garda Síochána Act, the Garda Síochána Inspectorate consists of three members who are appointed by the Irish Government. The job of the Inspectorate, is to:
The first Chief Inspector (since July 2006), is former Commissioner of Boston Police, Kathleen O'Toole. She reports directly to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
From 2006 to 2009, O'Toole was supported by two other inspectors, Robert Olsen and Gwen M. Boniface. Olsen was Chief of Police for 8 years of the Minneapolis Police Department. Boniface is a former Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, and was one of 3 female police commissioners in Canada when appointed in May 1998. She suggested that rank and file Gardaí were not equipped to perform their duties or protect themselves properly. She also suggested that routine arming may become a reality but dismissed the suggestion that this was currently being considered.
Over 2000 complaints were made against the organization in 2009. The Garda Commissioner referred over 100 incidents where the conduct of a garda resulted in death or serious injury to the Ombudsman for investigation. Also newly instrumented, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (usually called the Garda Ombudsman or GSOC) replaces the earlier system of complaints (the Garda Síochána Complaints Board).
When it became fully operational on 9 May 2007, the Commission was allowed to:
The Members of the Garda Ombudsman Commission are: Dermot Gallagher (Chairman; former Secretary General at the Department of Foreign Affairs), Carmel Foley (former Director of Consumer Affairs), and Conor Brady (former Editor of The Irish Times and author of a book on the history of the Gardaí). The Commission's first Chairman was Kevin Haugh (a High Court Judge) who died in early 2009, shortly before his term of office was to conclude.
The Garda Public Attitudes Survey 2008 found that 81% of respondents were satisfied with the Gardaí, although 72% believed the service needed improvement. 91% agreed that their local Gardaí were approachable.
The survey also found that 8% of people believed a Garda has acted unacceptably towards them; this rate was highest in Dublin South Central at 14%, lowest in Mayo at 2%. The most common complaint was of Gardaí being disrespectful or impolite.
The Garda Band is a public relations branch of the Garda Síochána, and was formed shortly after the foundation of the force. It gave its first public performance on Dún Laoghaire Pier on Easter Monday, 1923. The first Bandmaster was Superintendent D.J. Delaney and he formed a céilí and pipe band within the Garda Band. In 1938, the Dublin Metropolitan Garda Band (based at Kevin Street) and the Garda Band joined and were based at the Garda Headquarters in Phoenix Park.
The band was disbanded in 1965. However to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Garda Síochána it was reformed in 1972.
Besides providing music for official Garda functions (such as Graduation Ceremonies at the Garda College) the band has a community orientated programme each year performing at schools, festivals and sporting events. It has a long association with Lansdowne Road for Rugby union and Soccer Internationals, the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin and the Rose of Tralee Festival.
In 1964 the band toured America and Canada under Superintendent J. Moloney, and has also travelled to international events and represented the country at police festivals and concerts in Switzerland, Germany and Northern Ireland.
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is a commune in the Indre department in the center of France.
Aérocentre is in Châteauroux.
Châteauroux is twinned with:
Communes of the Hérault department
The following is a list of the 343 communes of the Hérault "département", in France.
Communes of the Indre department
The following is a list of the 247 communes of the Indre "département", in France.
Compromise of 1877