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This paper will outline the extent to which local police governance is provided for in Ireland. It will argue that, in a country that has of late been plagued by policing scandals, reform agenda as yet have not been preoccupied by this issue and so formal police governance has not emerged. On the other hand, however, the paper analyses reform trends that tend towards such developments. These are analysed and it is argued, firstly, that these developments have been substantially shaped by the post-colonial nature of the state and, secondly, that through these examples we can question the virtues and vices of local police governance.

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Limited attention has been paid to the realization of the right to interpretation in the police station. What has been done often focuses on the police or the interpreter experience. We seek to address this lacuna by focusing on the extent to which the right to interpretation is realized in Ireland. We start by outlining the nature of the right at international and European levels, and exploring the reasons why the right is so important. We consider how this has been implemented in Ireland, and note how even on paper there are significant, fundamental concerns as to how the effectiveness of the right is achieved. We then present findings from semi-structured interviews with over 40 criminal defence solicitors in Ireland, with experience of attending police interviews. The findings show that solicitors have concerns about the process of securing interpreters, the quality of the work, their independence, their understanding of their role, the overall impact on the process and the urgent need for training. It is abundantly clear that the right cannot be effectively realized under the current system in Ireland, despite the Directive on Interpretation being in effect there. Further, we note that solicitors are often uncertain and unclear on the extent of the right and what they can ask for. This means that those who are defending the rights of the detainee are unlikely to challenge breaches as they occur. The right to interpretation is clearly deeply neglected and ineffective in Ireland.

The shifting focus of criminal proceedings from the trial to the pre-trial stages leads to a changing role of criminal defence practitioners across Europe. European criminal defence lawyers are now expected to enter the proceedings earlier and exercise "active" and "participatory" defence as early as the investigative stage. Criminal lawyers, trained in the traditional trial-centred paradigm, are ill-prepared for this role, which results in an important skills gap. Legal representation at the investigative stage presents unique challenges, such as shortage of information, time pressures and the closed nature of pre-trial proceedings. It requires lawyers to operate in a more complex communication environment, than the one to which they have been accustomed. This article sets out the main elements of a professional training programme aiming to fill in the emerging skills gap. The training programme (SUPRALAT) was successfully implemented in Belgium, Hungary, Ireland and the Netherlands, and is being expanded further. The training focuses on effective communication skills, experiential learning and the development of reflective skills. It includes elements of interprofessional training and encourages the development of "communities of practice".