Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I thank my colleagues for sharing their time with me. It is appropriate to discuss the connection between the Morris report and the Garda Síochána Bill in the context of this motion. We had debates in the House on both but it is appropriate that we are allowed and enabled to debate both together. In that respect I welcome the Private Members' motion tabled by the Labour Party.

Nobody in this House would disagree that the revelations in the Morris report are shocking in the extreme and that if they were replicated in Garda divisions in communities in every city and county throughout the country, we would be talking about a serious threat to our democracy. I do not believe that is the case, and I believe that is the view of most Members of this House.

We should remind ourselves of the comments made by the chairman of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board, Gordon Holmes, in the immediate aftermath of the publication of the Morris report when he indicated that in his view the Garda division in Donegal was a kingdom unto itself and in no way could it be said to be symptomatic of the culture in the Garda throughout the country.

The simple thread running through the report is that the gardaí in the Donegal division believed they would never be held to account. They believed they could get away with their actions and that, in effect, they were above the law because there were no systems or controls in place in the Garda framework that would identify what they were doing. That was a licence to indulge in corruption and in the sort of behaviour that almost destroyed families and brought the good name of the Garda, earned over decades by hard-working members of the force, into serious disrepute. The question, therefore, is one of accountability and whether the Bill as proposed responds to the concerns set out in the Morris report.

It would be appropriate to again quote the chairman of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board, Gordon Holmes, when he welcomed the provisions of the Bill. This is a person who was charged with the responsibility of investigating complaints against the gardaí. He was the first to acknowledge that he did not have the powers to investigate and oversee complaints against the Garda properly and therefore his comments and judgment carry enormous weight in this debate. We should take careful note of what he said. As I indicated earlier, he said that the Donegal division was a kingdom unto itself. He also indicated that we cannot legislate for one Garda division alone and that we must legislate responsibly and proportionately for every Garda division. Gordon Holmes concluded that having investigated complaints and presided over what he acknowledged to be a defective way of investigating the Garda, he felt this Bill was an appropriate response to the situation that has developed. That view carries enormous weight.

There are many other aspects of the Bill I would like to discuss. I welcome the fact that the ombudsman and inspectorate provisions are independent. In the opinion of most but not all commentators, they have the necessary powers. There is no point enshrining in legislation that the Garda must be accountable. Nobody would disagree with that but the question is about the way it is to be held accountable. Having studied the provisions for the ombudsman and the inspectorate, the powers are appropriate to deal with these situations into the future. For that reason I support the Government's amendment to the motion.

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