Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tonight's debate concerns one of the most important institutions of the State, the Garda Síochána. Recent events surrounding the alleged surveillance of GSOC have raised serious questions about its independence and its capacity to ensure proper civilian oversight of the police in this State. The seriousness of this matter cannot be overstated but, despite the fact that almost certainly the offices of GSOC have been targeted by a covert and sophisticated surveillance operation that could only have been carried out by a Government agency, the Minister and senior Garda personnel have attempted to trivialise what has happened over a ten-day period. This is unacceptable. The Minister's failure to adequately address the compromising of GSOC's security is an indictment of his attitude and approach, and earlier today the Cabinet was forced into a U-turn, announcing an inquiry with a scope so limited that it is likely it will amount to nothing more than a review into the GSOC scandal.

Serious questions arise around the Minster's capacity to oversee the role of the Garda and to be truly independent in his role as Minister for Justice and Equality. His statement last week to the Dáil completely misrepresented the GSOC report and his distortion of the facts has been repeated by senior Ministers and the Taoiseach, whose initial response to The Sunday Times article which broke the story was to misinterpret the legislation in an attempt to discredit GSOC. The question arises of whether the Government wants an independent ombudsman. Thankfully, these Government failures have not undermined the public's confidence in ordinary rank and file gardaí, who provide a vital public service. However, the failures of both the Minister and the Garda Commissioner were further underscored last Friday when, at their joint press conference at Templemore, the Minister attempted to row back and demonstrate his confidence in GSOC, only for the Commissioner to undo this effort by saying that the pigeon had come home to roost for GSOC. Today's decision by the Government to belatedly initiate a review into this saga is a response to what has become a catalogue of controversy and crises under the Minister's watch. The appointment of a retired High Court judge to inquire into all matters of relevance will be viewed with a certain cynicism, given that it will be the Minister himself, albeit on advice from the Attorney General, who will set the terms of reference and receive the report. The Minister should also be placed under forensic scrutiny as part of any examination rather than being the one to oversee the review.

Yesterday, Sinn Féin publicly stated that we would be making the necessary amendments to the Garda Síochána Act 2005 in order to strengthen GSOC's powers, particularly in view of the need for GSOC to investigate the Garda Commissioner. Today the Government announced that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality would be asked to review the existing legislation and make recommendations for change. I suggest to the Minister that there is no opposition to strengthening the legislation and that powers to investigate the Garda Commissioner can be provided for immediately on that basis, even as broader policing reforms are considered by the committee. It is also necessary that the ombudsman, when conducting investigations, has oversight of An Garda Síochána up to and including the Garda Commissioner. We will not have a policing culture based on accountability and transparency if the person at the top of the force is exempt from independent investigation. This was eloquently noted in recent days by the former Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Nuala O'Loan, who said that based on GSOC's current set-up she simply would not be an ombudsman.

We need to amend the legislation to give effect to these broader reforms and modernise our laws to match the policing challenges of 2014 and the administration of justice in the State.

There is great merit in the idea of creating an independent policing board with proper oversight similar to the body that exists in the North. For instance, at community level joint policing committees have in most parts become talking shops. There must be community input and structures which are responsive in order to win public trust and confidence in policing. Additional powers must be devolved to joint policing committees to give local representatives direct input in the development of local policing plans. Joint policing committees also need to be given a more effective role in ensuring that local policing plans are fully implemented. The Garda must then be held to account for its implementation.

Sinn Féin became a driving force for progressive change and policing accountability in the North. The Patten report provided a blueprint that enabled the creation of a policing service that is accountable and answerable to the public it serves. It is clearly time to usher in new change. The Government stood on a platform of dramatic reform. Let us now match words with action and get on with the task in hand, which the people expect and which the Government promised to deliver.

See this speech in context