Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 35:

In page 44, to delete lines 26 and 27.

The Garda Commissioner has, as one might expect, a broad range of duties to keep the Minister informed of certain matters. However, section 36(1)(d) is problematic in that it refers to "any other matters that, in the Commissioner’s opinion, should be brought to the Minister’s attention". The Covid-19 pandemic was a dark chapter for a variety or reasons.

There was a spectacle in which a European Commissioner was, at least according to media reports, pulled over by a member of An Garda Síochána for having a mobile phone in his hand. That information was provided by the Garda Commissioner to the Minister. If a European Commissioner or anybody else was pulled over with a big of Kalashnikovs in his boot, there may be an attempt to subvert the State or one might suspect him of involvement in terrorist activities. At the very least, if a European Commissioner was found with unarmed weapons in his or her possession, it would raise serious questions. I am not saying that having a mobile phone to your ear is not a serious offence; every road traffic offence is serious but I think everybody would agree it is of lower severity in terms of the Road Traffic Acts. I note that a woman pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious injury. Nobody could say the two are of equal severity or that having a mobile phone to your ear is as severe, while I would not recommend it or condone it. There is a risk that it amounts to political policing when something like that is brought to the Minister's attention. At that time, there was a concerted effort by the leaders of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, respectively, to get the Commissioner to fall on his sword as the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine had done after the golfgate incident. He was digging his heels in, it was causing embarrassment and resentment and there was a fear it would undermine the acceptance of Covid regulations by the population at large.

That was just one incident. Regardless of what the Garda Commissioner's motivation was in bringing it to the attention of the Minister for Justice, I point to that incident as an illustration. The phraseology of that section allows for political policing. There was a Garda Commissioner who apparently informed a previous Minister for Justice that a Member of the House - I cannot remember what offence he was alleged to have committed at the Five Lamps in Dublin. It was unrelated to the security of the State. It was Mick Wallace; I think the committee knows who I am talking about. There was no suggestion-----