Ms Antoinette Cunningham:

I thank Senator Gallagher. As regards lessons learned, greater and clearer communication is a lesson for everybody in this pandemic. In the initial stages, I could understand the need for some decisions that had to be taken quickly. However, the Government missed an opportunity to engage on any level with the Garda staff associations, which represent the gardaí who were operating the enforcement and engagement of these regulations on the ground. It was a missed opportunity to engage more with the Garda staff associations as such engagement could have been useful in giving the on-the-ground experiences as to what may or may not work. There were mixed messages from the Government, which was unhelpful. If messaging is going out from the Government, it needs to be crystal clear. I agree with Dr. Lunn that people need to know the point at which they are stepping into non-enforcement and which sanction could be applied to them. There are, therefore, lessons to be learned around communication during the pandemic.

The Senator asked about the use of discretion. If the Garda Commissioner issues an instruction within the organisation about the use of discretion, as a rank-structured organisation that operates on a command structure, we obey the instructions as they are set out for us. However, the Senator will appreciate that in using discretion, gardaí act on their own authority and judgment. They have to be crystal clear about how they will apply discretion. Discretion should always be applied fairly and equitably in similar circumstances. It cannot be applied differently to the same set of circumstances. We need to be careful, therefore, when we use discretion that we use it appropriately and apply it fairly and equitably to everybody. There cannot be an uneven application when it comes to the use of discretion. When a law is crystal clear it is clear what is or is not allowed.