Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The performance of the Garda Síochána is central to our democracy. It is clear that what has happened in County Donegal is a scandal that implicates the gardaí who were directly involved. However, it is also an indictment of the appropriateness in the 21st century of the structures which govern the force. The Government is not addressing that at all. The notion of a Garda authority was outlined in the Labour Party's proposals in this regard, which were published by my colleague, Deputy Howlin, five years ago. That notion was entirely different to the Garda Síochána Bill's pandering to a Garda inspectorate. The Garda authority, as proposed by Deputy Howlin, would be separate from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It would set a plan for policing, monitor standards and have a supervisory function. It would assess the effectiveness and efficiency of policing in this State in its annual report. That is absolutely central to our society.

The former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, refused to extend the purview of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in this regard. It was excised from the terms of reference. It is plain from the quick glance I have had at the Morris report that Mr. Justice Morris is not just talking about a little local difficulty in County Donegal — it is far more serious than that. I have great respect for the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, but I cannot understand why he said, as recently as three weeks ago, that the inquiry into the death of Mr. Richie Barron was thorough and efficient. The House should be profoundly disturbed by remarks of that nature.

It is not too late to take advantage of the opportunity, presented by the Garda Síochána Bill, to take action in this regard. We need a commitment from the Government that it will implement all the recommendations of the Morris report. The Minister for the media took full credit yesterday for Mr. Justice Morris's report, even though he opposed the establishment of the tribunal. He could have imported the recommendations of the first Morris report into the Garda Síochána Bill, but he did not do so. As I said last week in Tralee, before the second Morris report was published, we need an independent commission on policing.

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