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

While the issue of the secret taping of conversations in Garda stations is extremely serious and needs a thorough investigation, one can only be wholly cynical about how the Government rushed to set up this particular commission of inquiry. It is quite clear that it was, and is, a means of avoiding immediate explanations by the Taoiseach and the rest of the Government of what pressure was brought to bear on the former Garda Commissioner to resign his position, to scapegoat him for the incredible mess that he, the Minister for Justice and Equality, the Taoiseach and the rest of the Government made of the serious issues that were continually brought to their attention by Garda whistleblowers concerning malpractice in the force. They responded incredibly when the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission reported its suspicions of having been placed under surveillance, which everyone believed was surveillance by the Garda Síochána. That would have to have been cleared at the most senior levels.

There are many critical issues concerning Garda investigations and actions going back over many decades that need to be examined and re-opened where they have been closed. Afri - Action from Ireland, for example, has compiled a comprehensive dossier on the occupation of a community in County Mayo by the Garda Síochána on the orders of the Government to ensure Shell Oil was given ownership of a crucial natural gas resource. As the Taoiseach turned his back on his own people, we had a community subjected to continual repression, violence by members of the Garda Síochána, and the most disgraceful pressure on decent people. That needs to be investigated.

Ms Cynthia Owen has requested many Deputies to keep raising her quest for justice. Her case involved horrific child abuse, the murder of her child and the alleged involvement of gardaí in that. Those matters need to be re-opened and investigated.

The murder of the Reverend Niall Molloy has been raised consistently in recent times, including evidence that there was a total stitch-up of that investigation. Those and other issues need to be examined. We have to find a proper structure for examining them in public, unlike the commission of investigation legislation which is largely in private. Those who have been affected by these malpractices within the Garda Síochána must also be represented.

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