Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

Ireland's police force, the Garda Síochána, was established on the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 as the guardians of the peace. The force has proudly served the people for the best part of a century. In recent years, however, An Garda Síochána has experienced a number of extremely damaging incidents, including the corrupt and dishonest policing in County Donegal, the shooting of John Carthy at Abbeylara and the handling of the "Reclaim the Streets" demonstration in 2004. In order for the police force to do its job to the best of its ability it must enjoy the full confidence of the people it serves. Currently this cannot be said of An Garda Síochána, and this debate is long overdue.

The important findings of the Morris and Barr tribunals have never been debated in this House, despite the fact the first report of the Morris tribunal was published almost two and a half years ago. It is extremely telling that the majority of the Morris tribunal's findings and those of the Barr tribunal were published during Dáil recesses.

It is important to remind ourselves that for every corrupt garda, every Sergeant John White, there are many gardaí who uphold the honour and dignity upon which the Garda Síochána was founded.

When meeting gardaí who are appalled at the behaviour of some of their colleagues and who do not wish to be associated with such appalling and corrupt behaviour, one gets a flavour of the decent, honest to goodness gardaí that exist. However, to afford such gardaí the opportunity to go about their work in a fair and transparent manner, it is vital to implement a most thorough reform of the force without delay.

I wish to discuss the Morris tribunal briefly. Mr. Justice Frederick Morris stated:

The Tribunal has been staggered by the amount of indiscipline and insubordination it has found in the Garda force. There is a small, but disproportionately influential, core of mischief-making members who will not obey orders, who will not follow procedures, who will not tell the truth and who have no respect for their officers.

This is a staggering statement from a judge in this State. These revelations of widespread corruption, flagrant abuse of powers, intimidation of witnesses and the framing of entirely innocent people in County Donegal have shocked all Members to the core and have caused the most serious damage to the name and reputation of the Garda Síochána.

One of the most disturbing aspects of Mr. Justice Morris's findings is that this corruption and misconduct is not exclusive to the Donegal area. To regain its position as a respected and trusted protector of the peace, the Garda Síochána must root out the small but disproportionately influential core of mischief-making members who have damaged the reputation of the force to such detrimental effect.

It is important to note the work of the Morris tribunal is far from complete and that evidence is still being heard regarding the interrogation of suspects in Garda custody and the shocking revelations continue to flow on a drip-feed basis. The first report of the Morris tribunal was published in the summer of 2004. Despite its damning content, previously the Government has not found it necessary to bring its findings before the House. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform anticipated the outcry that would accompany the third, fourth and fifth reports of the Morris tribunal, as well as the Government's absolute failure to act on the previous reports' recommendations and took the opportunity to announce a number of reforming actions regarding Garda discipline when these reports were being published.

While some aspects of these measures are welcome, the Green Party believes they do not go far enough. For instance, I refer to the need for a Garda authority. One of the key concerns voiced by Mr. Justice Morris pertained to the issue of effective communication between the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Garda headquarters. While the Garda Síochána Act 2005 made the Garda Commissioner directly accountable to the Minister, the new arrangement risks over-centralising and politicising the Garda. Ultimately, this will undermine its independence. To date, one of the most glaring omissions from the Minister's raft of reforms concerns the establishment of an independent Garda authority. I understand the Minister has stated that he considers both himself and the Government to be acting as a Garda authority. However, this does not go far enough.

I wish to turn to the Barr tribunal. Following the tragic events at Abbeylara in 2000, the Barr tribunal found that the lead negotiator made 14 mistakes during the siege and that he failed to make real efforts to achieve resolution during the armed stand-off. However, the Barr tribunal report also stated that the lead negotiator was hampered and limited by a lack of experience and resources. The recommendations made by Mr. Justice Barr must be carried through immediately. This would mean an urgent review of Garda command structures, the equipping of the emergency response unit with stun guns and other less lethal options and the establishment of a formal working relationship between the Garda and State psychologists. Members were reminded of this matter by another recent siege.

In the context of the use of the emergency response unit in sieges, Garda training must be improved, particularly to deal with situations in which mental illness may be a factor. Local Garda superintendents must also take up refresher courses — as scene commanders — for at least one week per year, to give them the specific expertise required for such volatile and difficult situations. However, Members have not yet seen enough real action taken by either the Minister or the Garda Commissioner on foot of these recommendations. I am concerned the tragedy of John Carthy's death could be easily repeated.

On a more fundamental level, human rights must be placed at the heart of policing in Ireland, as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, has clearly stated. The Green Party sees great merit in the action points put forward by the ICCL in response to the Morris tribunal's conclusions. The reforms simply do not go far enough to address the inadequacies identified in the five Morris reports and the ICCL has identified six action points for change arising from that tribunal's findings. I refer to Garda management and human rights-proofing, civic oversight, the need for a Garda authority and Garda accountability, a fresh approach to Garda recruitment and training, the legal power of superintendents to issue a search warrant and the handling of Garda informants and covert policing. The Green Party believes these action points provide a useful blueprint with which to place human rights at the heart of policing in Ireland.

It is interesting to examine the inclusion of human rights issues in Garda training in Templemore and to consider the results of surveys undertaken there. The surveys indicated that new recruits are open to the theme of human rights providing the backbone for education in the policing sphere. However, they also discovered — as one went further up the ranks — a certain unwillingness to take on board the central issue of putting human rights at the core of Garda training. This is a matter for concern and promotion methods within the Garda Síochána must be reviewed.

It is telling that the senior cohort of Garda officers are from a specific demographic and seniority appears to be based more on years within the force than is the case in other police forces. Senior police officers from the United Kingdom or the United States who appear on television seem to be at least ten years younger than their Irish counterparts. While I do not wish to be ageist in this regard, promotion should be emphasised more on the basis of merit than on years served in the force. This fundamental issue must be addressed carefully and without delay. Moreover, the best and brightest must be brought in from outside the force. The obstacles to recruiting externally should be carefully considered, particularly at a senior level within the force. I wish to see the Minister make greater efforts to bring in senior officers from New York, Boston or London. As Ireland becomes a more multicultural State, people from minorities must be included and must be placed at the heart of policing in order that they can identify problems before they arise in such areas.

This debate is useful and the Minister has begun to acknowledge that radical reforms are necessary. However, I do not believe they are moving fast enough. A much faster pace of reform is required, which learns from the best practices in other jurisdictions.

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