Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I am not sure whether he goes on holidays. However, we are told having a single Garda ombudsman would be unworkable and unacceptable.

Fine Gael also has grave difficulty with the suggestion that what is good for Northern Ireland is not good for the Republic. In Northern Ireland, one of the strongest driving forces to ensure acceptance of the PSNI in all communities has been the character and determination of Nuala O'Loan. One should have no doubt about this. She, empowered by the legislation that set up her office, has had a tremendous impact in a number of areas, not least in the reinvestigation into the Omagh bombing. She deemed the original investigation to be absolutely inadequate. Her report resulted in a reappraisal of the search for justice, the fruits of which we are now witnessing. This would not have happened without that single ombudsman and the strength and power of her character and personality in driving the investigation forward. Is it that we do not want this in the South?

With an exemplary public servant such as Nuala O'Loan working just 100 miles from us, who are we to suggest we should not have anything other than a framework that would allow a similar exemplary person, unfettered and free, to act in the public interest? The Minister should think about this again. Whatever about the mechanics of the process and what happens in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, the public must have full confidence in the office being established. It has no confidence in the existing body. It has confidence in the operation driven by Nuala O'Loan. This is the precedent we should be following.

Let me refer to some of the individuals involved and affected by the carry-on in Donegal. Despite all the political and legal wrangling that the events in Donegal have led to, we should never forget we are discussing serious human suffering. On the night of 13 October 1996, Richie Barron was knocked down and left for dead. Frank McBrearty Jr. had been playing football with his son and then went to work in his father's nightclub. Mark McConnell had been socialising in Raphoe. Michael Peoples was to become the victim of a blackmailer who believed him to be part of the murder effort. Frank McBrearty was to become the victim of a witch-hunt in pursuit of a murderer who did not exist. Mark McConnell was assumed to have been guilty because, as Mr. Justice Morris states, "members of the incident room team were emotionally consumed by the presumption of his guilt". That Michael Peoples considered paying his blackmailer was proof enough in the eyes of Donegal gardaí to seal his fate.

Last Wednesday, the Taoiseach informed us that there are a further 120 cases pending against the State and the gardaí in Donegal. The one-bad-apple excuse will clearly not wash. It is time to take a step back and ensure our response to the Morris investigation is of sufficient strength. We must ensure the end of this sorry saga and the beginning of a new chapter in the record of a force that has rendered such proud service to the State since its foundation.

Let us ensure, for the future, that when we think of the Garda force we do so by recalling the heroic sacrifice of members such as Garda Jerry McCabe rather than the nasty, mean and unedifying conduct of those who besmirched the name of the force in Donegal. From now on, let us ensure that we put in place structures, practices and procedures to prevent another set of circumstances such as those that obtained in Donegal. If we do so, the country will gain, as will the Garda Síochána. The badge of the force will once again be looked at and worn with complete pride and confidence.

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