Noeline Blackwell and Emily Logan

The former CEO of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre will assist the watchdog as an expert adviser on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Ms Blackwell holds a number of other roles, including with the Children’s Rights Alliance, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, and the Press Council of Ireland.

She currently chairs the Independent Patient Safety Council and the Child Law Project, and is a director of the Open Doors Initiative. She is also an adjunct professor at UCD Sutherland School of Law.

Police ombudsman Emily Logan said: “Noeline Blackwell has a wealth of experience, both as a human rights lawyer and an advocate, in the area of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

“I am very pleased to engage her as an adviser to assist my office and I know she will make an enormous contribution. Noeline’s expertise will assist us as we continue to refine and improve our processes and protocols for investigating complaints.”

She continued: “Fiosrú is a lead agency in the government’s third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

“Our role as an independent oversight body is to work to improve the safety of victims of domestic/sexual abuse and the policing response through our investigation of complaints.

“These include both complaints about the adequacy of An Garda Síochána’s response to domestic abuse/sexual violence incidents and also complaints about Garda members as perpetrators.”