Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is quite clear that an investigation into an investigation is going to continue. However, what is also very clear is that there is an aggressive reluctance by senior gardaí to accept any form of meaningful accountability over what Garda Commissioner Callinan refers to as his force. This is the nub of the matter. It is also clear that the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has backed senior gardaí in this attitude. The real problem here is that an ordinary member of the public who has a complaint against the Garda or an individual garda faces, at best, an insurmountable set of obstacles in having their complaint taken seriously and properly investigated. At worst, they find themselves the target of harassment and intimidation, wrongful arrest, vexatious charges and so on.

I refer to a particular case and I will then put a question to the Taoiseach. I am aware of the 30 cases that were put to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, in October last by Justice for All. One of those involved Dr. Richard O'Flaherty, who was a nominated doctor in the Limerick area for both the Garda and the Prison Service for 40 years. He would be called to the Garda station to treat people under arrest. He had concerns about the maltreatment of patients in the Garda station, including beatings and denial of medical attention. He raised these issues on occasion when giving evidence in court. This brought him into conflict with certain gardaí and, at present, there is a GSOC investigation into allegations made by Dr. O'Flaherty of harassment and intimidation, including a serious assault by gardaí against him personally. It took two years, 12 letters and the expense of hiring a solicitor to convince GSOC to appoint a civil investigator. When someone in this situation faces such difficulty, what hope is there for ordinary citizens?

I put it to the Taoiseach that there is a problem of culture at the top. This is an opportunity for the Taoiseach and the Government to deal with the situation. Will the Taoiseach establish an independent police authority? Such an authority would appoint a Garda Commissioner, with the Commissioner to be accountable to the authority. Will he properly resource GSOC with real powers to investigate complaints, a commitment to investigate all complaints and put an end to gardaí investigating gardaí? Will he bring proper protection for whistleblowers and, just as important, protection of citizens who exercise their right to make complaints?

It is time to deal with this decisively. Otherwise, as we have been talking about it in the past and we are talking about it in the present, we will be talking about it into the future. The fundamentals have to be changed. The Taoiseach is in a position to do it. Will he do it?

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