Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We certainly need to get the balance right between having a genuinely independent police service and democratic accountability. That is a given. We can achieve that. The Policing Board model in the North is a good one. There is no doubt that the PSNI is accountable not just to the Policing Board but to the Assembly. With the right will we can achieve that.

Members of the Garda Síochána want an independent police service. The difficulty they face now is that the Commissioner is enforcing cutbacks which he presents as modernisation, smart policing and efficiency, which distances him from the grass roots gardaí who tell us a very different story. We need to make a clear separation from Government in respect of budgeting, and the present relationship, which people would argue was the reason it took so long to refer the penalty point allegations to an independent ombudsman. The relationship is too close between Government and the police. We can bring in changes that make the police more independent and deal with the Minister's legitimate concerns about democratic accountability. If we put our minds to it we can make it better. What does the Minister think of that?

See this speech in context