Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I am glad to have the opportunity yet again to debate these matters, if "debate" is the appropriate word. It is not a debate but rather, as the Order Paper states, "Statements on the implications for governance, accountability, discipline and training within An Garda Síochána arising from the findings and conclusions contained in a number of reports and the actions taken by the Government in response to these matters of serious public concern". That is an understatement with regard to matters of profound importance for the basic nature of the State and how it is policed, which is one of the most important civic functions that is entrusted to us, as the people's assembly, to organise.

The reports are not listed on the Order Paper for the record, although they are listed in the Minister's speech. They cover a wide area of separate and very different issues and matters of concern, and certainly could not be responded to in any detailed or individual way in the time available or given the nature of the debate. Nor could a coherent analysis of each be provided in a mere 30 minutes and I do not intend to attempt to do so. Any one of the reports would take hours of analysis given that each has taken, at a minimum, months and in some cases years to compile. I will, however, mention these ground-breaking and profoundly important public documents which require a concerted and ongoing response from this House and the Executive.

We often have regard if a clamour about a matter grips public consciousness. First, there is an inquiry, which is followed by the result. We then have a three-day wonder at the consequences of the result of the inquiry but then business moves on to the next issue. That cannot be the result in these matters.

My involvement in the Donegal investigations is in the public domain. I welcome the ongoing investigations of Mr. Justice Morris and the impact his reports to date have had and continue to have on public policy. It has been a long time coming, but at last some measures of relief and vindication are being given to citizens of this State who were subjected to unimaginable anguish and distress, and, more than that, were abused by the State and its agent, the Garda Síochána. The scale of the abuse of power outlined by Mr. Justice Morris beggars belief. It is frightening and shocking that it could have continued over such a protracted period of time and that so many individual gardaí of all ranks could have been involved or immersed in it. We must consider profoundly how that happened and ensure not only that it cannot happen again but that it is not happening again now.

I said on the last occasion that Morris reports were debated here in Dáil Éireann, the people's assembly, that we owe it to all the good, decent people of Donegal who were caught up in this horror story to listen carefully and respectfully to the story of their ordeal, but we must also respond appropriately. Half measures or incremental responses will not wash. As I set out six years ago, we must consider the path-finding work of the Patten Commission in Northern Ireland to find how we can operate better. The core issue remains the establishment of a new, accountable management authority for the Garda Síochána. I welcome the remarks of my colleague, the Fine Gael spokesman, on that matter earlier in the debate. As with virtually everything else in the two policy documents and two Bills produced by me and Deputy Rabbitte six years ago, my Garda Síochána Authority Bill and his Whistleblowers Protection Bill — at that stage we asked for a Garda ombudsman, a Garda authority and local policing committees — all the reforms that were rejected out of hand six months ago are by increment being implemented now and are being wrapped around the current Administration as if they were its idea.

Somebody described the Good Friday Agreement as Sunningdale for slow learners. I welcome the recognition that fundamental reforms are required but the core issue remains the establishment of a new accountable management authority for the Garda Síochána. This authority must be independent of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, must approve an agreed policing plan for the country and must agree with senior Garda management on the level of resources needed to implement this agreed work plan.

Two weeks after the publication of the three most recent Morris reports, the Garda Commissioner made a preliminary response. He stated that discipline in the force was working well and that the problems outlined in regard to Garda management had been addressed. The problem with this response is that it runs counter to the clear and profoundly worrying conclusion of Mr. Justice Morris that the gardaí serving in Donegal cannot be said to be "unrepresentative or an aberration from the generality".

Some have talked about a few rotten apples in the barrel or a few letting down the many. The inescapable reality is of a monumental failure in control and authority in one of the most important institutions in the State. We — the Minister and Members of the House — must ensure that no citizen is ever again subjected to an abuse of power on the scale set out in the reports currently before this House.

Where are we now? Can this House agree with Garda Commissioner Conroy that discipline in the force is working well and that the problems outlined in regard to Garda management have been addressed? This morning on RTE radio, Philip Boucher-Hayes raised a disturbing case, which concerns the death of Mr. Shane Tuohey of Rahan, County Offaly, on 2 February 2002. The circumstances surrounding the investigation of this man's death by the Garda Síochána raise serious questions. Shane was a 23 year old man, described by a spokesperson for the Garda Commissioner as "a person of outstanding character and highly thought of in his area".

Several Members of this House were contacted by Shane's father, Mr. Eamon Tuohey, and tabled parliamentary questions in regard to the investigation into his son's death. The most recent parliamentary question was tabled by me on 12 October 2006. I received the following reply from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform:

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the death of the person referred to is under review by a senior Garda officer. It is expected that the investigation file will be completed shortly. As the Deputies will appreciate it would be inappropriate for me to comment further before completion of the review.

In a written reply to RTE, a spokesman for the Garda Commissioner said that a superintendent from outside the Garda district had been appointed to carry out a second investigation on 3 November 2005. A summary of the conclusions of the second investigation was set out in the spokesman's letter to RTE. The letter in question was dated——

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