Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

The Green Party welcomes the Bill. Any measure designed to drag the police force, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century is long overdue. Confidence in the Garda Síochána must be restored. The drip feeding of revelations from the Morris tribunal remind us on a daily basis of the need to reform radically the way the force recruits, promotes and goes about its business.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has often stated that one must be radical or redundant. I am disappointed that the Bill is cautious and restrained. We need radical reform of the Garda Síochána. The measures in the Bill are not as radical as necessary. While we recognise the positive move to establish the Garda ombudsman commission, other issues need to be addressed such as training, the political accountability of the Garda Síochána, the recruitment process and the reporting of crime. On the independence of the police service, we are concerned that the Bill largely retains the existing system of political appointment of senior officers in the Garda Síochána. The relationship between the Government and senior figures in the Garda must be at arms length and there must be transparency in this process.

Several sections in the Bill provide broad discretionary powers to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Section 23(2)(c) directs the Garda Commissioner to have regard to "any relevant policies of the Minister or the Government". The independence of the police service is central to its credibility and people's perceptions of it. Therefore it is imperative that the Bill be transparent and allow for full accountability within the police service.

Some of the Green Party's concerns are as follows. Section 7(4) states: "In performing its functions, the Garda Síochána shall have regard to the importance of upholding human rights." We suggest that we should insert "and ensure fair and equal treatment and respect for all". Simply referring to human rights gives too broad a remit. We need to be specific and ensure that equality is mentioned in the Bill. This section covers the functions of the Garda Síochána and its objectives in preventing crime and preserving peace. While upholding human rights is covered in the section, we feel it warrants expansion to incorporate the prevention of discrimination.

Section 55 outlines 11 different circumstances in which the disclosure of information can be reasonably considered to be harmful. Section 55(2)(j) states: "affects adversely the international relations or interests abroad of the State, including those with Northern Ireland". Again this wording is too broad and is open to interpretation as the concept of the "interests abroad of the State" might encompass diplomatic or economic effects, which might be difficult to foresee or quantify.

Section 14(1) states: "The Garda Commissioner may, subject to subsection (4) and the regulations, appoint persons as volunteer members of the Garda Síochána to assist it in exercising its functions." I am concerned about the "Dad's Army" aspect of this provision. I am concerned that we will have a second grade of people with very strong policing functions who perhaps do not have the training or background to use those powers correctly. I urge the Minister to ensure that volunteers are given the same training as other gardaí before exercising Garda functions. In particular they need to receive human rights training.

Section 122 relates to the exercise of special powers by security officers. Section 122(2)(b) states that the head of an authorised body may:

(b) designate a person as a security officer in relation to those premises if satisfied that——

(i) the person is a suitable person to exercise the powers of a security officer under this section in relation to specified premises,

(ii) the person has received adequate training for that purpose,

After "training" we need to insert: "including human rights training", which must be seminal to the Bill and cannot be included in an À la carte fashion. I am concerned how these volunteers will work. Will they have a parallel rank structure to the current Garda service? Will these volunteers need to subscribe to the solemn declaration and the code of ethics? They too must be held accountable.

Section 58 refers to the appointment of three members to make up the Garda ombudsman commission. We are very concerned about dilution of powers to a three-person commission. As in many other areas, there should be one person as the ombudsman to oversee the Garda. Having three people gives rise to the danger of buck passing and losing personal accountability. If three persons are to be appointed to the Garda ombudsman commission, we recommend that the positions should be publicly advertised and an independent advisory body should make the appointments.

Section 86(3) states:

The Ombudsman Commission may decide, either on referring the complaint under section 84(a) or at any time during the investigation, to supervise the investigation of a complaint if it considers it desirable in the public interest to do so.

While this provision is of significant importance, the involvement of the ombudsman commission in a supervisory function should be mandatory in all cases, rather than discretionary. The staffing of the commission should be completely independent. I appreciate that Ireland is a small country, but I would be worried if the commission were to be staffed by people who are on secondment from the Garda. If we are to ensure that there is full independence in such circumstances, we have to break that link.

I have concerns about section 91, which restricts the right of the ombudsman commission to direct an investigation or search of a designated Garda station. The European Court of Human Rights considers national security to be a legitimate ground for restricting accountability and transparency. The investigating staff of the commission will be bound by the Official Secrets Act 1963. Any warrant will be confined to material relevant to a specific complaint. Restriction of the powers of the ombudsman commission seems somewhat anomalous, given that investigators from international bodies like the Council of Europe's committee on the prevention on torture already have the power to enter any police station on demand. We recommend that section 91 should not restrict the ombudsman commission's general right of access, on demand, to Garda stations.

I remind the House of what the Council of Europe's committee on the prevention of torture found when it came to Ireland. Its most recent annual report stated that the allegations of ill-treatment heard by its delegation were given some credibility by their number and consistency. A person who was interviewed in Cork Prison alleged that four or five police officers had dragged him down the stairs of Anglesea Street Garda station the previous day. He said the gardaí had repeatedly struck him with batons. A person interviewed in Clover Hill Prison alleged that the police had twisted his wrist a few days earlier, at the time of his arrest. He said that several baton blows were subsequently delivered in the direction of his head by a police officer at Store Street Garda station. He had to deflect the blows with his left arm.

Another person who was interviewed by the committee's delegation in Dublin alleged that the police treated him roughly at the time of his arrest a week previously. He said he was subsequently assaulted many times by police officers at Store Street Garda station. He said that an officer hit him six or seven times on the thigh with a baton on one occasion, while he was being restrained. It is easy to be sanctimonious in the Dáil Chamber, but we have to admit that the allegations have some credibility. We need to ensure that the ombudsman commission will be allowed to enter any Garda station at any time. Such a provision is needed in the Bill.

Section 98 allows the ombudsman commission to engage in a review of practice and policy procedure. As the Bill stands, the commission will need the authorisation of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform before it can engage in such a review, but we believe it should have the power to instigate such reviews.

Section 76 provides that "a complaint must be made within the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the conduct giving rise to the complaint". Regardless of the provision that allows for the extension of that time limit in exceptional circumstances, we think the current timeframe provided for in the Bill is inadequate. Logically, the timeframe is not practical because books of evidence in criminal proceedings are often not served within six months. We think it would be a reasonable compromise to extend the relevant timeframe to 12 months.

We welcome the establishment of joint policing committees. We would like the members of the committees to be people who are broadly representative of the community. The committees should represent those with specific policing needs and groups which experience high levels of contact with the police. We can follow the model in Northern Ireland in this regard.

The Green Party is disappointed that the Bill does not deal in detail with the issue of recruitment. Garda recruits should be trained in how to liaise with the public and respond to people's needs. They should be given the opportunity to give feedback on Garda operations. We would like positive steps to be taken to recruit ethnic minorities, including members of the Traveller community. We are concerned that the current entrance criteria make it difficult, if not impossible, for ethnic minorities to enter the force, with very few notable exceptions.

I am concerned that gardaí who are doing good work in the community are being removed from community policing roles. Such officers should be allowed to stay in the same place for two years. I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Costello's suggestion that an urban police training institute be established. A wonderful old woman in the Liberties once asked me if a decent garda from Crumlin could be assigned to the area. While it could be said that she had a prejudice or bias in respect of gardaí from certain places, she had genuine concerns about the arrival into her local area of gardaí with no link to it. It would make absolute sense to locate part of a police college in Dublin, for example in Dun Laoghaire. The suggestion should be accepted.

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