John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I join other Members in paying tribute to Mr. Justice Morris on his fine second report, which reveals a litany of negligence, corruption, lies, deceit, cover-ups and appalling mismanagement. It exonerates Mr. McBrearty and Mr. McConnell and indicates that they were ruthlessly and viciously framed by the Garda. Their lives were made a hell. Were it not for the tenacity of Mr. McBrearty, Deputy Howlin and Senator Jim Higgins, this matter would not have come to light. I pay tribute to the Members of the Opposition for acting in the way they did.

Mr. McBrearty came to our conference this year. After he spoke, he received a standing ovation. It was clear that this was a man who believed in his cause and believed in truth and justice. He was willing to pursue that cause until the very end. He is a very fine individual of whom this country should be proud. He is an ordinary person who battled against the odds and made great progress. He has not yet won totally, but he has been totally vindicated. However, this matter has a long way to go.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform as Attorney General tried to stall Mr. McBrearty's quest for justice for as long as he could. The Minister has been dragged kicking and screaming to the altar of justice by Mr. McBrearty and others.

Let us have the truth because, in a sense, the spin has worked. The Minister spoke yesterday as if he were the person who had pursued justice. There may be people who believe this, but let us put the record straight. This Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has behaved disgracefully. He has not acceded to the reasonable requests of the McBrearty family. He has let them down, so much so that they have called for his resignation. However, he can no longer procrastinate. What will be done? Will there be resignations and sackings from the Garda Síochána? Will we sit on this? Will the recommendations be implemented immediately or will there be a stalling process?

In light of this damning report, the Green Party has called for a proper independent body to investigate fully complaints against the Garda. This would be along the lines of what has been established under Nuala O'Loan in Northern Ireland. which has worked effectively. The Minister resisted the proposal, yet what we heard from him this morning is that he will put forward a sticking plaster proposal by amending the Garda Síochána Bill. This does not go far enough. The Green Party and other parties in this House pushed for this and we will continue to push for proper accountability within the Garda Síochána. Root and branch reform of the Garda Síochána is required. We are not getting root and branch reform because the Minister is not a reforming Minister. He is the Minister for spin who does not deliver. We know from the figures given last week that crime is increasing. He has successfully spun his way throughout his Ministry and some people appear to believe he is doing a good job. I do not believe he is doing a good job. He is doing a very bad job for this country.

The Green Party will continue to campaign for proper accountability and standards within the Garda Síochána. We hope the Government will listen to what we are saying at this stage. It is the second damning report from Mr. Justice Morris and it cannot be ignored.

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