Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

The killings I have mentioned continued and eventually culminated in the assassination of Kevin O'Higgins, who was the first Minister for Justice, while he was walking to Mass on 10 July 1927. The important decision that the Garda would be an unarmed force was taken following a training incident during the early days of the force, when a Garda recruit accidentally shot another Garda recruit. As I have said, the Garda Síochána was established in the Gresham Hotel in February 1922. During a speech he made in Dún Laoghaire on 29 October 1923, Kevin O'Higgins stated:

There are over 600 Civic Guard stations established to date out of a total establishment which provides for 800 stations. They have done and are doing splendid work in restoring order and stability in the country. Their discipline is of a high order and gaining experience from week to week they bid fair to become as fine a force as any country in the world can show. Great credit is due to General O'Duffy who in the most adverse circumstances built up such an admirable service for the people.

We should recognise today that the Garda has continued to make such a fine contribution since that time. We should remember those who lost their lives in the defence of this country and ensured that our freedoms are protected. Although there are exceptions, freedoms are protected and respected in this great country, generally speaking. There is a great deal of concern about the level of crime in certain areas, especially urban districts.

While I appreciate what the Bill before the House sets out to do, some gardaí are concerned that the Garda is subject to more scrutiny, redress and accountability than any other public body. If one puts in place too much regulation and bureaucracy, there is a danger that gardaí who are pursuing their duties, for example by investigating crime, will be more concerned with protecting themselves than with ensuring that perpetrators are punished, which should be their main goal. Gardaí need to know more than solicitors about the law and its enforcement. If they do not have such knowledge, they will be totally exposed by barristers when they appear in court. Matters become more complicated as cases are moved to higher levels of the justice system.

Gardaí sometimes become bogged down in bureaucracy and face increased levels of paperwork because of the need to ensure that they protect themselves by complying with all legal details. One does not see many gardaí on the streets because they are dealing with office work. Most gardaí of my acquaintance would prefer to be on the beat, walking through estates in their local areas, for example, but it is impossible for them to do so because they are so busy with paperwork. Gardaí were able to do the job expected of them in the past, when they did not have to deal with such high levels of paperwork and bureaucracy. They were free to police local communities, communicate with local people and offer the security that results from the presence of a garda.

Gardaí nowadays have to be very careful. They know they can easily be exposed if they make a mistake in their evidence. We should bear in mind that a garda can lose his or her job if he or she makes such an error. Trainee gardaí are told at the start of their careers they should ensure they stay out of trouble. If they have family responsibilities, for example, it is hard to blame them if they take an over-cautious approach. They meet the bureaucratic demands imposed on them because they do not want to get into trouble, and it is great if a prosecution results at the end of that process. We should be mindful of such considerations.

I would like to highlight some aspects of the Bill. I agree with the proposal to establish a Garda volunteer force, which was a Fine Gael policy during the last general election campaign. There is some confusion about the process of selecting and training people to serve on the volunteer force, however, because the relevant section of the Bill is vague and ambiguous. The Minister recently announced that the volunteer force will comprise approximately 1,400 members. Although they will not receive two years of training in the same way as mainstream gardaí, it is significant that they will have the same powers as full members of the force. I ask the official from the Minister's office to ensure that the Minister clarifies this aspect of the matter when he responds to the debate.

Given that mainstream gardaí who have received two years of training may have difficulties in interpreting a raft of legislation, what chance will volunteer officers have when they try to do the same? It is important that the Minister specifies the length of time that will be spent training the volunteer members. What type of training will they be given? Can the Minister give substantive details of the training? Such details are needed if people are to be confident that the volunteer force is effective. I favour the creation of a volunteer force, as I have said, but volunteer officers should not have the same powers as ordinary members of the Garda if they have not received the same training. Fine Gael strongly believes that volunteer members should not have the same powers as permanent members unless they undergo the exact same level of training. Only then will my party be satisfied that volunteer officers should have the same powers as mainstream gardaí.

I agree that local authorities should be involved in policing. It is important that the Garda works closely with local communities, as its members used to do before the demands of bureaucracy and office duties made it impossible for them to do so.

While I was researching this speech, I read a document about Robert Peel who was born in 1788 and died in 1850. He devised his well-known nine principles of policing while he was establishing the London Metropolitan Police in 1829. The seventh principle is that a police force should "maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen, in the interests of community welfare and existence".

I have always said we are all responsible citizens, that we are all police people. We have a duty to alert the Garda Síochána if we feel something is not right or if people break the law. It is impossible for the gardaí to police everything and that is why it is important that the public trusts the gardaí and communicates to them any suspicions about illegal activity. I hope that principle of Peel's, published nearly 200 years ago, can be put in place for local authorities. Sections 30 to 34 give a statutory basis for involvement of local authorities in policing matters for the first time. Interaction between local authorities and the gardaí is long overdue. It is a welcome step that my party advocated in its justice policy at the last election.

If communities are to experience long-term reductions in crime, local authorities must take on a dedicated oversight role in policing matters. Providing a forum for the gardaí and local authorities to exchange views and co-ordinate activities will result in real benefits to local communities. It will provide an opportunity for real interaction and bring back a sense of ownership to a public that is becoming disenchanted with the criminal justice system. The interaction between the gardaí and community should be brought to an even more local level, with fora including representatives from education, health boards and political parties. There is a worry that these local fora will simply become a way for politicians to influence the gardaí. It is important that there is distance between Garda enforcement, duties and policy and local policy on Garda numbers and problem areas. The involvement of local authorities, however, would be a welcome development. In England and the United States, local authorities have a much greater role in policing.

The ombudsman commission is welcome. Those gardaí who do their duty and are committed to their jobs should not fear this. The Garda Complaints Board has been the focus of criticism for some time and does not enjoy the confidence of the entire public. It is an easy target for those who want to attack the gardaí who say the board is the force investigating itself. I welcome, therefore, the decision to dissolve the board and opt for the ombudsman model that we have advocated for some time. The Minister should have opted for one ombudsman instead of the Dáil appointing three people. We should have looked at the model in Northern Ireland.

Every effort should be made to advance the Garda station in Castleisland. If we want an example of a local unit of the force being neglected, it is to be seen in Castleisland, where gardaí are being treated very poorly.

See this speech in context