Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, has finally apologised to the two Garda whistleblowers. To do so, apparently, it was necessary for him to be flanked by a praetorian guard of political heavyweights, with the Taoiseach on one side and the Minister for Finance on the other. They must have feared that, even as his very head depended on the apology, the Minister would be unable to bring himself to utter the hardest word in his extensive vocabulary, namely, "sorry".

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties yesterday issued a statement entitled, "Garda accountability; the rot must stop". It referred to the litany of scandals and crises affecting An Garda Síochána under the political supervision of the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Government. It complained correctly about the boxing off of each of these matters in different investigations with no real powers for those investigating. It demanded the creation of an inquiry to examine and report on the full spectrum of Garda accountability issues. That is precisely what is needed. However, a full and extensive examination cannot be carried out satisfactorily under the Commissions of Investigation Act, as it stands. For a start, the Act directs that any inquiry be largely held in private, but any inquiry into these matters should be held in public. The Government, apparently, intends to appoint senior or retired judges who themselves are pillars of the established order. Any inquiry into An Garda Síochána should have the testimony and experience of ordinary people, working-class people in particular, who should be able to bring their experience at the hands of Garda malpractice, whether by individuals or as a body, into full play. It should be a comprehensive, radical, root and branch investigation into how the Garda has operated for many years. However, this cannot happen unless those at the sharp edge of Garda activity in a wrong fashion are involved fully, including victims of malpractice, minorities and other groups. It should involve ordinary people who must wait for hours for gardaí to arrive at their door when they need them in an emergency after making an urgent call because of the austerity cutbacks made by the Government.

The most recent issue of the wholesale taping of the public, including legal advisers and clients, at many Garda stations has been overshadowed by the sheer incompetence pointed to by the fact that, allegedly, the Minister for Justice and Equality was not apprised that this was a serious issue until eight months after the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission had flagged it and four months after the Garda Commissioner and the Attorney General had set up a working group. Why was there such delay? Is it because the Garda Commissioner or the Government or both condoned this practice, that is, the illegal use of private conversations?

In another issue that beggars belief, the Data Protection Commissioner carried out a three year audit of the treatment of Garda data between 2011 and 2013, which led to the publication of a 95 page report this month. While it details all manner and means of data, data collection and data retention, it does not contain a single word about the taping of telephone calls. The Data Protection Commissioner must explain what happened in this regard, the reason this matter was not brought into the open or whether he was misled.

I will refer briefly to other issues that require attention. On children of members of the Traveller community being accorded criminal intelligence numbers on the PULSE system, thereby marking them out for life, I wish to hear about this issue. I also refer to the closeness of the top echelons of the Irish news and media to the top echelons of the Garda, to penalty points being wiped out for the former and the crooked coverage they give this entire issue which favours the management of the Garda.

Where does the Labour Party stand tonight? It has been utterly humiliated in this debacle. I refer to the spectacle two weeks ago in this Chamber of the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, flapping incoherently while trying to defend the indefensible but without a word in demanding the apology the Minister has given tonight. Instead, it covered over the fact that such an apology needed to be given and then, humiliatingly, peeped agreement when the Fine Gael Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, saw fit to come out and call it. I suggest the Labour Party stands humiliated.

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