Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to put on the record that I believe the vast majority of members of An Garda Síochána are hardworking, decent, honourable people in the same way as I think the vast majority of greengrocers are hardworking and straight people. However, the reality is that if a greengrocer did not have a till and weighing scale, he would inevitably come under suspicion regardless of how honest and decent he might be.

The following individuals approached us with their own experiences of An Garda Síochána and their subsequent efforts to seek remedies and resolution. They came to Buswells Hotel today to share their experiences as, unfortunately, it appear this is the only remaining forum for them. These experiences demonstrate incidents that provisions in the Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2013 would now address, both in specific ways and in a general way by improving general mechanisms of oversight and monitoring within An Garda Síochána.

I will now talk about the first case - that of Shane Tuohey whose family has given us permission to talk about it. Some 11 years ago, Shane Tuohey from Clara in County Offaly died a violent death. He was socialising with friends on the night that he died. He was in his late teens. There was a physical altercation outside a certain nightclub which continued on throughout the night. Shane was assaulted and there is independent evidence from two American forensic experts indicating that he was dead prior to his body being placed in the canal. His remains were found some days later by friends and family from the area - not by the authorities. Shane's family vehemently discounts the possibility of suicide and believe that the people who assaulted Shane are well known and very well connected to various high profile, well-respected and well-known people in the Offaly area.

The Garda investigation does not appear to have been up to the standards required by the State under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and a letter received from former Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy admits that normal Garda procedures were not followed in this case. The inquest into Shane's death returned a verdict of "death through drowning" and it is the family's contention that the main witness for the Garda was collected by four members of An Garda Síochána on the morning of the inquest and was clearly intoxicated while giving evidence resulting in the coroner disregarding her evidence. There was a subsequent inquiry by assistant commissioner Jennings in 2007 and the DPP concluded that no gardaí should face prosecution regarding the shortcomings of the Garda conduct alleged by the family. The family have contacted the GSOC on several occasions and have been told that the complaint was inadmissible. The admissibility criteria under the new Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill have been widened in respect of time limits, which they would extend to two years for incidents which, if proved, would include criminal offences.

The second case concerns Dr. Richard O'Flaherty from Caherdavin in County Limerick. He is an eminent GP and a gentleman who has practised in Limerick city for the past 40 years. During the course of his career, he was frequently called to different Garda stations in Limerick city to attend to patients. Dr. O'Flaherty's experience is that he has been subjected to the most serious, degrading and intimidating treatment by certain members of the gardaí in Limerick city which he feels has intensified over the past 12 years. He believes that many of his patients have been brutalised while in Garda custody and that his refusal to remain silent about this has led to Garda intimidation. His health has been seriously affected by this but Dr. O'Flaherty continues to practice his profession at his private home. Dr. O'Flaherty is still awaiting a response from the GSOC relating to complaints made. However, under the new Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2013, his treatment would now come under the amended section 102 definition of "serious harm", which has been expanded to include the European Convention on Human Rights Article 3 definition of injuries from "torture, inhumane or degrading treatment". The definition has also been expanded to include rape or sexual assault, something which has long been called for by GSOC itself. Section 102 requires mandatory referral by the Garda Commissioner to GSOC. Alternatively, harassment by gardaí, which the GSOC previously admitted was something of a grey area in terms of admissibility, would now fall under the newly created code of service which forms a third ground of admissibility under this Bill.

The third case is that of Mr. James Goonan from Birr, Co. Offaly, who died in February 2002 at his home in Crinkle. He was confirmed dead by his elderly mother at the bottom of the stairs at his home which he shared with his wife, who was in the house when he died. He had 38 marks on his body and a 10 cm gash at the back of his head and his family suspect foul play. Despite many appeals from the family to this effect the family believe the gardaí in Birr were unprofessional in their approach and failed to carry out a meaningful and thorough investigation into the cause of James's violent death.

As the Goonan family were not considered immediate next of kin, they were compelled to go to the Supreme Court to gain access to the Garda case file. In November 2005 the Supreme Court ruled that James's family was entitled to detail collected regarding when, where and how James met his death. The family say they were forced to seek access through the courts as the coroner had refused to engage with them.

Mr. Cyril Goonan and Mrs. Nuala Ramseyer, James's brother and sister, contacted the GSOC on several occasions about their brother and were told on each occasion they were out of time. The new Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill extends admissibility criteria in terms of time limits, strengthens the requirement on the Garda Commissioner to provide evidence promptly and requires him or her to gather and preserve this evidence before informing any relevant gardaí of any impending GSOC investigation. The new Bill also requires the GSOC to consider re-opening a discontinued investigation when previously unconsidered evidence is provided.

The fourth case is that of William Ryan and Margaret Delaney from Tullamore, Co. Offaly. They feel they have been subjected to repeated Garda harassment through inappropriate searches, false accusations and seizure of mobile telephones over the past year. They also allege an assault by a garda during one of these searches. Mr. Ryan's children were witness to some of this intimidation. During periods of detention, Mr. Ryan's requirements due to a medical condition were ignored. Mr. Ryan's complaint to the GSOC was deemed inadmissibly on the grounds the behaviour alleged is not such that it would, if proved, amount to a breach of Garda discipline. One could hardly make this up. The new Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2013 would improve this situation by extending the grounds of admissibility by introducing a new third ground to cover a breach of the newly created code of service. The GSOC itself admits that Garda harassment is a grey area in terms of admissibility.

We always hear about great people such as Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela and the type of people who stand up for themselves. We only hear about them from the establishment when what they have done is acceptable and everyone else is cheering them on. We hear in the Chamber how we are so sorry for the Magdalen laundries, what happened to the women who were tortured by symphysiotomy and numerous other matters. Why do we not get ahead of the game this time and instead of crying crocodile tears when it is too late we listen to the modern heroes who are in the Gallery?

One of my great heroes in life was Dermot Earley who was a great and honest man. I see a smile on the face of another man in the Chamber because he recognises this fact. I put the people I have met in recent months up there with a great man such as him. The reason I do so is because they are taking a risk to do the right thing. If anyone wonders what risk is involved I will state what was said to me after I was on "Tonight with Vincent Browne" and made a badly timed comment about Garda corruption. The first thing said to me when my closest of kin rang me was that we would nearly want to think about getting out of the country. Why would someone immediately react like this? It is because no more than in the greengrocers with no weighing scale or till one cannot trust a system which does not have checks or balances. When one sees what happened in the past and what is going on now, it is a perfectly normal reaction after standing up to it to think one would be safer to leave the country. This should never be the case in a democracy. One should never have such a fear. One should always be able to come out and do the right thing and be encouraged to do so, after which other people can do the same in the future. Everyone in the Gallery is a hero.

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