Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

He was well chosen. George Birmingham concludes that no deliberate attempt was made to undermine the rights of Dean Lyons. His view is that inappropriate leading questions were inadvertently asked of him by interviewing gardaí, a failure which in turn equipped him with the information to maintain a credible albeit false confession. He gives reasons for this conclusion, one of which is his further conclusion that one of the main Garda conduits to Dean Lyons of the ultimately damning information was the loudest voice in his defence at case conferences.

Another factor unearthed by the commission which helps illustrate the complexity of Dean Lyons's vulnerable personality was the fact that his guilty plea was not a fleeting admission made in an oppressive interview room in a weak moment that was retracted almost immediately. It is the case that he maintained his own guilt before the impugned confessional material came about and long afterwards, not only to gardaí but also to a wide variety of other persons, including his legal advisers and family members.

With the benefit of independent experts, the report concludes that Dean Lyons's confessions were attributable to prior existing vulnerability within his personality that were compounded by his heroin addiction. His most elaborate and extensive admissions were made after he had taken the methadone which had been prescribed for him. Furthermore his vulnerability was disguised by his relatively high verbal skill — in other words his difficulties would not have been immediately obvious to a stranger. The report criticises the failure to notify the DPP about the doubts that existed within the investigation team — doubts which the report concludes were raised at case conferences despite the denials of members of the management team.

The decision of the original investigation team, three months after its original recommendation to the DPP that the existing charge of murder against Dean Lyons should nonetheless proceed and that an additional charge should be laid in respect of the second fatality is described by the commission as difficult to understand and even harder to justify. This comment was made in light of the fact that at the time Assistant Commissioner James McHugh was in the process of conducting an analysis of the various admissions on behalf of the Commissioner — an analysis which ultimately contributed to the DPP's decision to drop the charges.

To date, no one has been brought to trial in respect of these brutal murders. This is a heavy burden for the families and friends of the deceased two ladies to bear and a matter of great regret to me.

It is my firm view that the three reports, the Morris reports, the Barr report and the Birmingham report, demand an analysis that transcends their own individual circumstances if full value is to be gained from them. It requires us to move from the particular to the more general and to distil the various criticisms into manageable and coherent themes. What do they tell us about the performance of the Garda Síochána in general? I believe they tell us quite a lot about what is wrong and about what needs to be done if the performance of the force is to be improved in a way that is needed.

It is fair to say that one theme in particular is a feature of three of the four reports — the Nally report being the exception — and this is the weakness of management at senior level in the Garda Síochána in not giving full leadership and actively managing in a manner that utilises the resources available to the Garda Síochána to best advantage. A recurring theme in the Morris reports is a need to ensure that management of the force is modernised and revamped in line with best international practice.

The Barr report identifies similar failures, albeit in a more specific context. It highlights the absence of a structured mechanism for managing scenes like Abbeylara, although it states that the performance of particular officers must be considered in light of what Mr. Justice Barr describes as inhibiting factors, the main inhibiting factor being the lack of specific training for those who had leadership roles in Abbeylara and an absence of knowledge on their part in dealing with violent conduct motivated by mental illness.

While the terms of reference of a commission of investigation do not involve making recommendations for the future, it is clear from any reading of the Birmingham report that there are serious differences of opinion between senior gardaí and their more junior colleagues. The report criticises senior gardaí for failing to convey to the DPP the doubts of their more junior colleagues. In the commission's view, the Garda written records of some of the interviews with Dean Lyons were incomplete, potentially misleading and could have led to a miscarriage of justice. The decision of the original investigation team, three months after their original recommendation, to recommend to the DPP that the existing charge of murder against Dean Lyons should proceed and that an additional charge should be laid in respect of the second fatality, is described by the commission as difficult to understand and even harder to justify. This is a clear criticism of management.

These leadership failures are matters of the most profound seriousness. The fact that they are manifest in different ways in each of the reports must indicate something. As Mr. Justice Morris stated in his Ardara report:

the Tribunal feels that it is necessary to point out that no one should serve as a superintendent without having the training, the expertise, the commitment to duty and the front line experience that will enable them to make real judgments on matters relating to criminal investigation. Men and women who are chosen for the rank of superintendent should, under no circumstances, be overawed by the experience or connections of any detective, sergeant or inspector serving under them.

In order to maximise levels of performance in a sustainable way, it is evident that the brightest and best must operate at the senior levels within the force. The first and most obvious issue that arises is the issue of selection — or more particularly the question of promotion practices within the force.

New promotion regulations have now been agreed by Government. The new regulations will bring about significant modernisation of the system for promotion within the force. They formalise the requirement for promotion to be based on merit and for all competitions to be held in a manner which is: fair, impartial and objective; in line with best practice; consistent throughout, and; open, accountable and transparent. These principles, combined with the introduction of additional external expertise in selecting candidates for promotion within the Garda Síochána will result in a system which reflects current best practice.

In January of this year I announced that the Government had approved the establishment of a professional standards unit in the Garda Síochána. This unit will have responsibilities for addressing performance, effectiveness and efficiency across all levels of policing activity. The establishment of this unit will enable the Garda Síochána to ensure that organisational efforts and initiatives are driven strategically and that value for money and international best practice in professional, ethical and human rights standards are maintained.

I recently established a four person advisory group to advise the Garda Commissioner on the issues of management and leadership development in the force and Senator Maurice Hayes has agreed to be its chairman. At the same time the newly established Garda Síochána Inspectorate, in keeping with its statutory role of providing independent advice on matters of policing, addressed in its first report the issue of the appropriate management structures at senior level. Both groups have set about their tasks with diligence and have produced reports that deal with the management and structures needed to facilitate optimum performance in the Garda organisation. These reports are seminal and timely documents at this juncture in the redevelopment of the Garda Síochána. There is an acceptance on the part of the Commissioner and senior officers of the need for change and the Garda Síochána Act reforms being implemented across the whole Garda organisation.

The Government and I accept the recommendations in these reports. It is crucial that the appropriate structures and systems are put in place at senior level to carry the changes through. The enactment of the Garda Síochána Act, with valuable contributions from all sides of the House for which I pay thanks, has put the necessary framework in place to give effect to the recommendations in these reports. I fully agree that changes should have been made years ago, but they were not. They are happening now and it is my intention to make further changes.

The report of the Garda inspectorate focuses on the question of the appropriate management structure in order "to provide an immediate and necessary platform to support further change". In the text I have circulated I have laid out a number of measures that are currently being implemented in the force. The appetite for change is strong in the force. I pay tribute to Commissioner Conroy who is a traditional member of the Garda Síochána, for his courage and determination in driving the process of reform. I pay tribute to all the senior Garda management for accepting the need for reform and for agreeing to facilitate it and to assist in this modernisation. I thank the representative association for its part in urging and participating in reform.

On the question of discipline within the force, Mr. Justice Morris laid very heavy emphasis on the need to restore a proper system of discipline which is workable. He made the frightening point that even minor infractions of discipline attracted all the incidence of a criminal trial for murder. This has been changed. New draft regulations have been drawn up, in consultation with the Garda Commissioner, to implement the recommendations of the Morris tribunal and I hope to have them in operation very soon.

The draft regulations to govern the reporting of corruption and malpractice, the whistleblowers' charter, have been published and are now in the public domain and I hope to implement them very soon, having heard the feedback. Civilianisation is proceeding apace or even accelerating——

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