Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to deal with a particular aspect of this debate, on which issue Ministers have made public comment during the past few days, namely, how the Garda Síochána fits into the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013, Second Stage of which is currently before the Dáil and may conclude this evening.

On 4 February 2014, some three weeks ago, I contributed to the Second Stage on the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013. I spoke specifically about section 19 which deals with the amendment of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. I made a number of observations in relation to that section which will be followed up by way of amendments tabled for consideration on Committee Stage of the legislation. Section 20 of the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 deals with complaints in relation to the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004. There is a contrast between how complaints and whistleblowers are dealt by the Garda Síochána legislation versus the Defence Forces legislation. There is a need for consistency in this regard.

Section 19 of the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013, commonly known as the whistleblowers Bill, which appears to be good until one examines it further, seeks to insert a new section requiring the Minister, following consultation with the Garda Commissioner, Garda ombudsman and the inspectorate, to make regulations providing procedures for the making of protected disclosures and seeking redress for a member of the Garda Síochána that makes such a protected disclosure. On the face of it, that appears good. However, it is not half good enough when one considers the culture of what is happening in terms of how people are being dealt with.

I would like to reiterate the points I made during the Second Stage debate three weeks ago. First, I support the Minister, Deputy Howlin, in his desire for proper protected disclosure within An Garda Síochána. I believe the full measure of this should be dealt with in the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 in the context of the amendments being made to the Garda Síochána Act 2005. It should not be left to the Minister for Justice and Equality to further amend that legislation in due course.

Second, it is typical of this Government's top-down approach to matters that in introducing a whistleblowers mechanism into An Garda Síochána, it consults the Garda Commissioner, the Garda ombudsman and the inspectorate. There is no mention of the 12,500 rank and file gardaí or the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. The Government is proposing to introduce this mechanism without any consultation with the people involved, except top brass. I said also at that time that this matter should not be addressed by way of regulation, which is a statutory instrument done in private by the Minister, but by way of primary legislation such as the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 which is currently progressing through the Houses. If it is necessary to draw up a draft of the regulations to incorporate them into the primary legislation, then that needs to be done before the aforementioned Bill is finalised. It is not acceptable in this day and age to state in legislation, as is the case in the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013, that the Minister will bring in regulations in due course. That is no longer good enough. We want to see the matter dealt with in the legislation and not by way of regulation following discussions between the Minister, Garda Commissioner, Garda ombudsman and the inspectorate, a process in which rank and file gardaí, Members of the Oireachtas or the public have no opportunity to be involved.

I want to put on record again that the vast majority of gardaí on the front line do an outstanding job on behalf of the public. This controversy is damaging to them. The cause of that damage is the manner in which this issue is being dealt with at senior level and how the Garda Síochána interacts with the Department of Justice and Equality. All of the problems are happening at senior level rather than ground level. Fianna Fáil is opposed to any attempt to put in place by way of the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 a procedure which applies to all public and private organisations and allows the Minister to draw up regulations for Garda whistleblowers. There should be no exemption for staff of the Minister's Department. There should also be consultation with rank and file gardaí about these measures. This matter must be addressed during Committee and Report Stages of the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013, at which time Government will have an opportunity to accept Opposition amendments to incorporate in the Bill measures which the Minister said previously he would like to see in it. We will give members of the Government an opportunity to do that, thereby testing their sincerity about putting proper whistleblowers legislation in place.

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