Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have had enough interaction on that and I have some questions. I should say first that our committee deals with all the ombudsmen and we are very proud that the outgoing Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has been elected as the European Ombudsman. We have established a reputation in Ireland in this evolving area, as the ombudsmen would acknowledge. The public service managers, including Secretaries General right down to people taking the telephone calls in the local council office or Garda station, face a challenge in cultural terms, so this issue is not unique to the Garda Síochána. Across the public sector a change in culture is needed to deal with the concerns of the public. I appreciate the points about the evolving relationship. Our challenge as a committee is to ensure the relationship gets stronger and better in order that accountability exists.

With regard to the context of this meeting, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission carried out a special public interest investigation into "allegations of collusion by members of An Garda Síochána with an individual in the movement and supply of controlled drugs, and the nature and extent of any relationship/s between members of the Garda Síochána and that individual". It is a serious matter. As noted by Deputy Harrington, we are thankful that only a tiny minority of members of An Garda Síochána have dishonoured the proud tradition of the force, which has a unique relationship with communities. We are very proud of that special relationship, which compares well with what can be seen in other countries. When an investigation like this occurs, it is in everybody's interest, including ours and the Garda Commisioner's, to get to the bottom of it.

I can have some degree of sympathy with the point about sensitive information, assurances about where that goes and the protection of human rights. Most people can understand this as a concern. There were 63 requests for information made during this investigation of immense public importance but only 17 of them were processed within the 30 day period, with 20 running over six months and some going to years before a response was forthcoming. Maybe the cases which took years could be in the category mentioned by the Garda Commissioner, but it is clearly unacceptable that two thirds of the requests went over the time limit in such an important investigation. What are the thoughts of the witness on that?

The Morris tribunal, which had connections to my home county of Donegal, revealed an appalling abuse of power by some gardaí. I am thankful it is long over and we have a very proud force up there again which is doing a great job. At the time of the tribunal there were lessons to be learned from the recommendations, but what is worrying is that this report states the lessons of the Morris tribunal around the handling of informers and retention of contemporaneous notes, which would be critical for reflection, were not learned.

What were the thoughts of the witness when he read the report from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission? I have no doubt he is as determined as all of us to get to the bottom of these allegations and either prove or disprove them. What does he think of the "grave concerns"?

I commend the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission on coming together and agreeing a new memorandum of understanding, updating what is in the Garda Síochána Act. Is the witness confident to indicate to the committee that from now on, the majority of requests from the commission will be responded to within 30 days? If not, would he be agreeable to some type of adjudication, as suggested by my colleague, Deputy Harrington? It could happen in agreement with the Minister that a High Court judge, for example, or somebody with that independent capacity, could adjudicate where co-operation is resisted in areas such as the handling of informers or issues concerning a threat to the human rights of individuals. Any sensible citizen could understand the importance of such issues.