Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Smithwick tribunal submitted its final report to the Clerk of the Dáil on 29 November 2013 and the report was published on 3 December 2013. In the absence of direct evidence, the tribunal found that, on the balance of probabilities, there was collusion by an unknown garda or gardaí in the murders of RUC officers Harry Breen and Bob Buchanan. This is a finding of the utmost seriousness. On the publication of the report of the tribunal I apologised on behalf of the Government to the Breen and Buchanan families for any failings identified in the report on the part of the State or any of its agencies. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste reiterated this apology. I also wrote to the two families to convey the apology and to express my sympathy directly. On the day following publication of the report, I met with the Garda Commissioner. He has also publicly expressed his apology to the Breen and Buchanan families and his horror that any garda would have colluded with the Provisional IRA. It is notable that there has been no apology or expression of remorse from Sinn Féin for these murders so callously carried out by their erstwhile comrades.

The tribunal made a number of recommendations with regard to North-South police co-operation and matters relating to Garda discipline. I met with Northern Ireland Minister of Justice, David Ford, MLA, who is my counterpart on the Northern Ireland Executive, on 17 December and we were joined at that meeting by the Garda Commissioner and the PSNI Chief Constable. We discussed the Smithwick tribunal’s findings and its recommendations on cross-Border police co-operation. At that meeting the two police chiefs emphasised that Garda-PSNI co-operation remains close and productive, and will continue to be a key element in countering the current security and other crime threats which this island faces. The two police forces have the full support of me and Mr. Ford in this regard. Mr. Ford and I tasked our officials and the two police forces to review the Patten programme of personnel exchanges and secondments, which has been in operation since 2005, to see whether additional value for the two forces can be gained from it. The establishment of such a programme was recommended by the tribunal.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The tribunal also made recommendations on personnel management in the Garda Síochána and Garda discipline. It is important in this regard to note the changes the already in place since the enactment of the Garda Síochána Act in 2005 with regard to the management of the force. The Deputy will also wish to note that a number of the matters to which the tribunal referred in its recommendations are directly relevant to the Garda discipline regulations which were put in place in 2007. These regulations are currently under review and the tribunal’s views will be taken into account in that context.

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