Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí agus Seanadóirí ó na páirtithe polaitiúla ar fad, seachas ceann amháin, a bhuail le clann Eddie Fullerton an tseachtain seo caite. Tá a fhios agam gur chuidigh an brú a chuir siad ar an Aire leis an athrú beag sa mheon a bhí aige go dtí seo.

The Minister was prompted by the concern of the Deputies and Senators. When confronted by Eddie Fullerton's sister at a public meeting he said he would establish an inquiry if a Garda Síochána reinvestigation found evidence of collusion in Mr. Fullerton's killing. That is to be welcomed although it is not sufficient. There is the question of possible Garda Síochána and British security services collusion. The relevance to this motion is that many of the gardaí who mishandled the investigation into Mr. Fullerton's killing are the same gardaí criticised by the Morris tribunal. That is why the family called for the terms of reference of the Morris tribunal to be extended to cover Mr. Fullerton's death and the subsequent investigation. At this stage we seek a separate public inquiry rather than an extension of the Morris tribunal.

Last week I asked the Minister to provide me with the details of the previous postings of the gardaí criticised by the Morris tribunal. It is a valid question. Some of these gardaí have been implicated by Mr. Justice Morris in serious crimes. If they were in other stations around the country who did they corrupt, or who corrupted them? The only way we can examine this matter is if we are supplied with the information on stations in which they worked in the past. I do not seek to know where they will be in the future. It should not be a State secret and as public representatives we are entitled to know so that we can examine the details of the Morris tribunal and future reports that come from it.

The Minister said there were only a handful of gardaí involved in the activities Mr. Justice Morris attributed to them. A handful means five or ten to most people. One can examine a list of gardaí implicated in some form or other, in gross negligence, incompetence, burying their heads in the sand, placing explosive devices and obstructing justice. That is from the first three modules. What about the next eight?

There is a culture of obstructing justice within the Garda Síochána. We do not hear from individual members of the Garda Síochána. They were not the ones who raised the question of corruption in Donegal. It was the families and Members of this House who managed to do that. We are still waiting for members of the Garda Síochána to stand up, be counted and point the finger at senior or junior members of the force who were involved in skullduggery. When they do so they need to be commended and protected against discrimination within the force.

If one considers the articles from Magill magazine, it is very strange that gardaí managed to get confessions from individuals who were not involved. Deputy Gregory referred last week to the case of Mark Nash. The Magill issue from April 2003 refers to Garda brutality and there is the case of a man hounded out of the Army and later hounded by the Garda Síochána. There are many cases in everyone's constituency where the gardaí have been involved in skullduggery.

I know of many examples, including Mr. John Moloney who was brain damaged in a Garda station and died subsequently. In my constituency a man pulled a gun on a member of the community as he drove a car with six children. When he rang the gardaí he was told the man was coked up to the head and that he would be all right in the morning. They suggested he would not remember what he had done but he did because he pulled a gun again three days later. The gardaí did not search for him, they did not arrest him, and I believe this is because he is a Garda informer. One of the problems is that Garda informers seem to do what they like and break the law.

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