Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to welcome the Garda Síochána Bill 2004. Although my party will table some amendments, the Labour Party broadly welcomes the Bill. I congratulate and commend the Garda Síochána on the service it has given to the State since 1924. The last comprehensive legislation in this area was the 1924 Act. It is timely that the Minister is coming forward with this far-reaching legislation for the purpose of modernising and upgrading some of the structures of the force.

During the 80 years the Garda Síochána has served us, generally it has done a splendid job. While all professions are important and play their part in the civic and economic structure of the State without security one has nothing, and this includes the Government or a senior citizen who, alone at night, is terrorised by a gang. Throughout those decades the Garda Síochána has served us well. The Acting Chairman will join with me in commending the local gardaí in Dublin North-East and the districts that serve the division, particularly the force under Superintendent Noel McLoughlin, Superintendent Nicholas Conneally and Inspector Eddie Hyland who run the three stations in our constituency. Throughout the year, and especially at Hallowe'en when there was significant disorder, it has always responded faithfully to the urgings of the general population and has carried out its work diligently.

I am delighted to have been facilitated in meeting with the senior Garda staff in our three stations on numerous occasions. I welcome that level of co-operation. Our part of Dublin city has been well ahead of the legislation in regard to local involvement. Six or seven years ago I proposed to Dublin City Council the establishment of a joint Garda-local authority committee with the support of our superintendents and local government staff under manager Declan Wallace. That committee is in operation for the past three or four years with the last two city councils. It is always helpful for colleagues, local representatives and national representatives to turn up to Darndale village centre and put across to the superintendent and his staff, face to face, the issues we think should be dealt with. In our constituency we have foreshadowed much of the development we welcome today, such as local accountability, policing plans and so on.

In the past the major problem in my local Garda station and other areas was the serious lack of resources with, perhaps, only 25 people to man a major urban station and only one patrol car available. The Government has still not addressed those deficiencies. As my colleague said, we are still getting the same mantra about crime as we heard three years ago. From last Saturday it appears the Progressive Democrats Party is a caring party, like those in Opposition. The Minister has had three years to address the grave problems of anti-social behaviour, Garda modernisation and so on which Deputy Rabbitte articulated yesterday morning. So far, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, has failed to do so. We saw the spectacle of him on media last week and the previous week berating security companies and every Tom, Dick and Harry except the person who is responsible for the whole situation in regard to armed robberies and the use of firearms, namely himself. He needs to look at his own track record which is not good.

The input of my party into the gestation of the Bill has been important. I tabled a number of justice Bills particularly in regard to the plague of joy-riding. I welcome the fact the Government has implemented some of my proposals. It is fair to say that for the generation of Labour politicians, of whom I am a member, from the late 1980s and early 1990s, even before the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom came up with the phrase "tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime", that was precisely our policy. If one looks through Labour Party documentation of the past ten or 15 years, it is clear that we did presage some of the key features of the Bill, particularly our proposals for legislation for a Garda authority and Garda ombudsman as issued by Deputy Howlin in November 2000. It is prefaced with an interesting quote from Michael Staines, the first Commissioner of the Garda Síochána who said that the Garda Síochána will succeed not by force of arms or numbers but by its moral authority as servants of the people. In that document we put forward some seminal reforms.

Obviously, the issue of a Garda authority has not been dealt with — things are still centralised in the Minister's office. That is an issue that should be addressed in the future. I commend the Minister on bringing forward the county policing liaison committees. While the Bill provides for a Garda ombudsman, we would have gone further but the ombudsman commission includes some of the basic proposals we suggested more than five years ago. Similarly, we stress the role of human rights in the work of the Garda Síochána.

It is fair to say the Labour Party foreshadowed many of the issues in the Garda Síochána Bill. The Taoiseach issued a challenge to us to support aspects of legislation which are prepared to be tough on crime. The Labour Party and I have no problem with that because we have always been tough on crime. We know the situation at first hand because being a smaller party we work hard on the ground and we know what is happening every day and night.

Crime prevention is the key element of policing. I refer to the National Crime Council which was an interesting initiative of the previous Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It was chaired by the distinguished former public servant, Pádraic White. It issued its crime prevention strategy for Ireland. Many of its recommendations on crime prevention are as valid today as they were when the strategy was published a few years ago, particularly in respect of the necessity for local involvement, local crime prevention plans and youth diversion. Valuable work has been done on the youth diversion schemes in the past decade. I commend the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for continuing that programme. Speaking from experience in my constituency and the north side region, the work done by the youth diversion programme has played a significant role in turning a number of young men away from a life of crime and desolation.

Unfortunately, the overall track record of the past three years is disappointing, particularly with respect to the plague of anti-social behaviour. My party leader graphically outlined the problem about which I have been in contact with the Minister on numerous occasions, which is the situation of the person who is regarded as different, very often living in a corner house in a local authority or a private estate. They are often tormented night and day. It is disappointing that the incidence of robbery of goods in transit and the discharge of firearms has increased year on year by over 50% during the Minister's time in office and to which he must give serious attention in the coming months.

The Minister has stated that this Bill is the most far-reaching legislation since 1924. In his contribution to the Second Stage debate in the Seanad he commended Senator Maurice Hayes for his contribution to the legislation. I welcome the provisions in section 19 for a strategy statement and the setting of priorities by a Minister. I also warmly welcome the establishment of local policing plans. The Minister may recall that the first such plan was in the Kilmainham area approximately four or five years ago under Commissioner Byrne. I am informed by colleagues in Dublin South that this was outstandingly successful.

I warmly welcome the annual policing plan which allows the Minister invigilate the performance of gardaí while not interfering in operational matters. I welcome everything to do with the independence of the Garda Síochána in respect of its financial responsibilities and the management and structure of the force. I particularly welcome the provisions in section 31 on the local policing commissions, one of which was established in the area of Dublin North Central and Dublin North East four or five years ago and has proved to be important and valuable. I also welcome the provisions for the service of the Garda Síochána in other forces, including the PSNI, and the Minister's initiative in providing for volunteer members of the force.

In the United Kingdom the local knowledge of constables plays a significant part in bringing about a direct and local response to issues. In Japan the force has a local tier which knows every family in the district and there is no need for continuous re-education of the force. I ask the Minister in his remaining period in office to properly resource community gardaí. They have been the Cinderella force for the past eight to ten years. We are all familiar with members of the force who have done heroic work in that role but were then sent on Border duty and this was a problem. They are pulled away from work they are doing very well, such as meeting young people in youth clubs and football clubs. I ask the Minister to consider putting a senior Garda officer in charge of community policing because this would be deeply appreciated.

Deputy Mitchell and I share the view that a regional police force should be considered. The idea of having a regional Dublin force was to provide a level of continuity in order that new members did not need to become educated about particular districts. Community policing needs to be strengthened.

I welcome the proposed replacement of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board by the independent Garda Ombudsman Commission. Citizens have complained about the length of time it takes to deal with complaints. In one case a complaint was made to the Garda Síochána Complaints Board by Mr. Kevin Tracey, 11 Park Lane, Chapelizod, Dublin 20. He called to my clinic and that of the Minister and effectively asked for a complaint he had made to the board to be dealt with and reported. He made that complaint approximately two or three years ago. I have a file containing quite serious allegations which he has made. It is disappointing that the board did not report on his complaint. It is unfair that no report is available on serious allegations made. In the case of Mr. Tracey's complaint, the new Garda Ombudsman Commission would have the resources and the structures to deal with it in an efficient manner.

There are some aspects relating to time limits which may require examination. The Garda Síochána Complaints Board is an independent body which does not report to the Minister and certainly does not report to me, but what happens when it takes on a case and just sits on it, as is alleged in this case? For the sake of the family of the complainant, Mr. Tracey, and everybody else, the complaints made should be dealt with and laid to rest. I mention this case because I had no other opportunity to do so. I ask the Minister to ensure the case is addressed.

I welcome the provisions in respect of the accountability of the Garda Ombudsman Commission, in particular in respect of offences which may have been committed as a result of the misbehaviour of a member of the force. I welcome the powers granted to it, including the power to investigate and examine records and documents in a Garda station. It is a positive development that the provisions of the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act 1986 will be replaced by a more accountable and transparent structure.

The Taoiseach challenged the Labour Party earlier this week on the type of measures that might be introduced to tackle the plague of anti-social behaviour. Public representatives have received much correspondence on this issue. Before Hallowe'en last year, I asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to examine the problems arising in communities during what should be a wonderful festival for one or two evenings. However, the Acting Chairman and I are aware that in some parts of our constituency, it becomes a two or three-month period of horrific noise and mayhem. On certain nights, some localities have been compared to the first nights of the US invasion of Baghdad because of the constant booming noises.

The Minister has told me it would be difficult for this House to introduce radical measures on fireworks. At his party conference last weekend, however, he seemed to make a great virtue of taking difficult decisions. The Progressive Democrats Party has become caring like the Labour Party and its members seem to be hedging their bets when it comes to potential partners in a new Administration. It is time for the Minister to take action on fireworks bearing in mind that the Hallowe'en period is less than five months away.

I commend the Minister on the introduction of the Bill and the examination of some fundamental policing structures. The Labour Party's 2000 policy document included a proposal for an independent Garda authority, and this is an issue that should be considered in regard to the administration of the force. The Garda Síochána has served our country and our communities very well. I commend the men and women of the Garda who have done their job so well, particularly in my constituency on the north side of Dublin in recent decades. We must acknowledge the heroic contribution of many gardaí, some of whom lost their lives in the service of the State. In addition to this Bill, I appeal to the Minister to provide the funding to ensure that superintendents have the necessary resources in terms of manpower, equipment and other support mechanisms, especially in hard-pressed urban stations throughout the country. In this context, I wish the Bill well.

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