Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the 11 key deficiencies that pointed to disturbing system failures within the Garda force. The report raises fundamental issues about the Garda Síochána, how investigation of criminal cases was carried out and the responses to serious concerns which were raised about them. There are serious questions around the nature of Garda management, governance and oversight, basic policing procedures and the role of bodies such as GSOC and the Department of Justice and Equality.

While Mr. Guerin makes the point that he has not made any findings of fact or come to any determination in respect of the matters he examined, he has indicated the need for further inquiry by way of a commission of investigation. The commission will have the powers and the remit to thoroughly investigate all of the relevant issues and to hear the evidence of everyone concerned The public rightly expect to be able to rely on the policing service and the criminal justice system. No police force in the world can operate without the support of the public. People get that in the main in Ireland and we want to maintain the bond and closeness between the people and the force. They must be able to trust that crimes they report will be fully and properly investigated. It is also vital for members of An Garda Síochána that they work in a system in which highlighting and reporting failings is regarded as professional and praiseworthy rather than acts of betrayal.

The report also highlighted the following areas that need examination and which have been already brought to the Minister's attention but I will outline some of them. The operation of the Garda station bail system also required a close examination, he suggested. Mr. Guerin called for a broad look at whether station bail was being properly applied as an alternative to bringing an accused person before a court for the determination of bail by a judge. He highlighted the use of section 2A of the Bail Act 1997, which allows the court to take into account and, where necessary, receive evidence or legal submissions concerning the seriousness of the offence and the sentence likely to be imposed if the person is a convicted. If that happened, the murder that was carried out in Limerick by a Tipperary man might not have occurred. There are serious deficiencies in this regard and they need to be addressed.

The resourcing of the Garda is also an issue with morale at an all-time low. We have been raising this in the House for two years because of cuts upon cuts upon cuts to the force's budget. Some Garda stations are not fit for purpose and I do not know how the Government expects anyone to work in them. Some do not have broadband coverage and are subject to intermittent telephone coverage while others do not have light bulbs in the toilets. That is how bad it is. When I raised these issues with the former Minister for Justice and Equality, he laughed at me and poured scorn on my complaints. Gardaí did not have batteries for their flash lamps and his reply was to tell them to buy the batteries themselves. What a thing to say and what disrespect that shows to members of the Garda. They are at the coalface trying to doing their best. I salute the majority for the work they do with the exception of a few officers who have let down the side and betrayed the good name of the force.

I will attend a retirement function for Superintendent John Courtney in Clonmel tomorrow night. This wonderful officer is retiring with dignity after 40 years service. I attended a similar function some weeks ago for Superintendent Tom Duggan. They are great officers who have given wonderful service but they are all tainted as is the entire justice system. The sooner the better the Minister grapples with these issues and the sooner the better serious questions are asked about the Department of Justice and Equality. What is going on that it could take 15 days for a letter to be handed to a Minister? There is something rotten in the system, as there is in many of the systems in the State.

I refer also to the Revenue Commissioners, where whistleblowers are needed and they should be supported. Some matters should be checked with regard to how ordinary citizens are being treated, the bully-boy tactics used and the way the fear of God is put into them. The Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, as a business man, should know this. Broad questions must be asked.

Resourcing is an issue. There is talk of reopening the college in Templemore and recruitment has been promised and dangled on a string. I wish the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, well and hope she will be woman enough to stand up to whatever situations arise. The last Minister did not have respect for An Garda Síochána. That is clear from the incident that occurred before he was appointed Minister, when he denied the facts of what had happened and used, mar dhea, the illness of asthma as a reason for failing to comply with a legal requirement, where a failure or an inability to do what one is asked to do by a garda is a crime. He was above this and that is when the rot set in. I believe the Garda Commissioner was compromised at that stage. I felt sorry for him, given how he had been treated, but I do not have a shred of sorrow for the last Minister who did not respect An Garda Síochána. He would not go to the conference he had been invited to attend and whinged when he was not invited to the other conferences. If any other Minister decided not to attend a conference or if a Catholic Minister was attending a Catholic ceremony and used this as an excuse for not attending, he or she would be banished from the earth by the media. However, the former Minister chose - he is entitled to his faith - to say he would not attend because he was going to honour his own faith. He was entitled to do this, but if a Catholic Minister or a Minister of another denomination did this, they would be run out of the country and destroyed by the media. As far as I am concerned, in the case of the former Minister, it is good riddance to bad rubbish. I do not wish him any bad luck-----

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