Administration

This Strategy document sets out the Vision, Mission and Strategic Objectives of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), in accordance with the provisions of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, for the period up to and including 2023.

GSOC is an independent agency of the Department of Justice and Equality. Much of our administration is done through the Department. For example purchase orders, invoice processing and other financial services are processed by the Department of Justice Financial Shared Services Centre.

Payroll and expenses are processed by the central government Payroll Shared Service Centre. Human resources services are provided by Peoplepoint, the Government HR & Pensions Shared Service.

GSOC leases an office building on Abbey Street Dublin for its corporate headquarters. The majority of its staff are based here, with 10-15 staff in two small regional Investigations team offices in Longford and Cork. We have 15 GSOC vehicles, which are fully owned.

GSOC adheres to public service procurement guidelines and is serviced by the Office of Government Procurement. GSOC currently have three significant tenders in progress at the moment for Security Services , Cleaning Services and Legal Services.

A list of contracts (of over €10k for ICT and over €35k for other contracts) is shown here:

The Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 is designed to provide information to the public about who is lobbying whom, about what. The Standards in Public Office Commission has established an online Register at www.lobbying.ie.

Section 6(4) of that Act requires each public body to publish a list of Designated Public Officials of the body. The purpose of that list is:

• to enable members of the public to identify those persons who are Designated Public Officials;
• as a resource for lobbyists filing a return to the Register who may need to source a designated public official’s details.

The following post-holder is a Designated Public Official of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, for the purposes specified by the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015:

 Director of Administration Aileen Healy, Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. 

The Director of Administration (DA) is a senior management position in GSOC, reporting to the Commissioners on the full range of the Commissioners’ responsibilities. The Director assists the Commissioners to carry on, manage and control generally the administration and business of the Ombudsman Commission, providing advice, guidance and support to the Commissioners on administration matters including structures, resources and the management and leadership of the organisation. The Director oversees the administrative management functions including Corporate Services, HR/Training, IT, Finance, Communications, Policy and Secretariat.

For further information in relation to the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015, please contact the Standards in Public Office Commission or look at www.lobbying.ie.

In line with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, the Department of Justice has drawn up an Oversight Agreement with GSOC which sets out the broad governance and administrative accountability framework within which GSOC operates. It defines the key statutory and administrative roles, responsibilities and commitments that underpin GSOC’s relationship with the Department.  Separate to that Agreement but complementary to it, a Performance Delivery Agreement is agreed every year with the Department.  The purpose of the Performance Delivery Agreement is to set out, in the context of the resource inputs provided, the metrics and associated targets by which the performance of GSOC will be measured.

It is important to note that under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 as amended (“the 2005 Act”), GSOC is independent in the performance of its functions and these Agreements do not affect same. Both current Agreements can be found below.

Annual Report of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) for 2021 in accordance with section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014

Under section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 each public body is required to publish an annual report outlining the number of protected disclosures received in the preceding year and the action taken (if any). This report must not result in the identification of persons making disclosures.