Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As with most other people, I was shocked to wake up on Sunday morning to the news that one of the most important offices of accountability in the State, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, had been bugged. The first question that came into my head was, "Who did this?" The second was, "How many innocent people will feel compromised by this security breach?" The third question, which was probably the first to enter the Minister's head, was, "Why was nobody told about this?"

The most important of these questions is the first. Who attempted and possibly succeeded to access the e-mails, Wi-Fi and telephone lines of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and what other State organisations may been bugged in this manner? If the independent statutory body with responsibility for civilian oversight of the State's policing operations can be bugged, what other arms of law and order could have had their security and privacy infringed? Could Cabinet meetings, the Judiciary or Garda headquarters be bugged? This is beginning to sound like the plot of an old Hollywood movie, except this thriller is not being funded by the Irish Film Board to be filmed in scenic County Wicklow. This horror story is unfolding on the doorstep of our democracy.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission recently investigated a number of high profile cases which involved confidential information that could have had a value to parties willing to use illegal means to secure access to it. One such case involved allegations of Garda collusion with a named individual in the movement and supply of drugs. Another case was opened into matters arising from the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse in the Catholic diocese of Cloyne. Other cases involve allegations of misuse of powers by gardaí. My point is that there is a range of potential culprits in this security breach. I trust the Minister will examine all possible reasons behind this covert operation.

In 2013, the American business publication, Forbes, voted Ireland the best place in the world in which to do business. In its 11 point rating system which rated 145 countries, Ireland was voted number one for personal freedom, number six for investor protection and number 21 for corruption. Given that the economy relies heavily on foreign direct investment, these ratings matter. Citizens require State organisations to be free from corruption and the effects of corruption. The most important response to this crisis will be to introduce whatever measures are necessary to ensure ongoing confidence in the policing system and its oversight body.

This leads me to the second question that came into my head on Sunday, namely, "How many innocent people will feel compromised by this security breach?" In 2012, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission managed 5,018 allegations to the point of closure. The commission is the only complaints management organisation I am aware of which maintains profiles of complainants. If, for example I was to complain to the Environmental Protection Agency about a threat to the environment, I would be very surprised to learn that the agency was concerned about my ethnicity, housing status and educational qualifications. The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission gathers this type of information about those who make complaints about the behaviour of gardaí and publishes a profile of complainants in its annual report. I find this aspect of the commission's reporting to be unnecessary and questionable. I hope the allegations made by complainants are investigated in a fair and open-minded manner, regardless of the demographic profile of the complainants. I make this point because the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission holds substantial personal information about complainants.

Many ordinary people who made complaints about Garda operations during the period of this security breach may be concerned about the security of confidential interviews and statements they made. These individuals must be reassured, as must the wider public, that the independence, security and authority of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission can be trusted.

This leads me to the third question that came into my head on hearing this news on Sunday, namely, "Why did the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission not report this serious security breach?" The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is not a single person but consists of three persons, only one of whom is a former police officer. A second commissioner is a former civil servant and Director of Consumer Affairs, while the third, most surprisingly, is a former producer, reporter and researcher in RTE who has also worked on the "Prime Time" programme. What were the three commissioners thinking when, it seems, they collectively decided to conceal the bugging of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission's offices from the Garda, the Government and citizens?

Ireland needs the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the Garda, which, for the most part, enjoys the confidence of the Irish people, needs the commission to help it retain the high level of confidence it enjoys. If there is one lesson to be taken from this sorry mess, it is that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission must be given whatever assistance is needed, whether new and more powerful laws, new leadership or a new structure - or all of these - to enable the body to do its job in a confident, open and transparent manner.

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