Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I have no problem with the word "vindicating" but I do not see why the Minister cannot accept the phrase "protecting and promoting" as contained in my amendment No. 19. Perhaps he will explain that. This is the proper place to include such an objective. My amendment No. 89 flows from this in that the Garda Commissioner would have the duty to ensure this objective is promoted. If the Minister's proposal ensures it will be a duty to vindicate people's human rights, that is in line with what I have attempted in amendment No. 89.

My amendment No. 20 refers to the duty of the Garda to protect the security of our communities and to provide positive leadership within communities. The Minister has not given an adequate response on this issue. The inclusion of such a duty makes it a separate priority to those of protecting life and property. For too long, it has seemed for many communities that the priority of An Garda Síochána and its officers was to protect private property over and above the well-being of communities. This is one of the reasons I wished to insert this clause and it is important that it should be included in this part of the Bill.

The Minister referred to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998. It is important that he should not be limited by that legislation. A desire for equivalence should not prevent us from going beyond the legislative provisions in place in Northern Ireland and attempting to set the standards. We have tended to look to the Patten report because the compilation of that report involved such an extensive trawl of policing models throughout the world. It has become a standard by which many societies are guided in terms of police reform. However, we should aim to set the standard beyond what is contained in the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 and thereby force the authorities in that jurisdiction to react to the standards and positive changes in our legislation.

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