Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No. I take this opportunity to wish the Minister well in her role. As I informed the Taoiseach upon hearing of her appointment, the Minister will be a great improvement because she will at least say hello to people when she meets them. That is a great start for any Minister.

In the context of the Guerin report, it is unfortunate that we find ourselves at this pass. Just to prove how wrong matters had gone, I wish to relate a story. On numerous occasions in the past I tried to raise with the Minister's predecessor a very serious matter of concern that was brought to my attention and that had been handled in the wrong way by An Garda Síochána. On each occasion, the then Minister did everything possible to either avoid addressing the issue or - to put it bluntly - cover it up. It is a matter of coincidence that the current Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, has replied to a parliamentary question I tabled on the same issue, which relates to a particular incident. I seek to treat every person with respect. In that context, I appreciate the fact that the Minister has indicated that she has sought a comprehensive report from the Garda authorities with regard to the matter in question and that she intends to review it. I absolutely trust that she will do so. The security personnel involved in the incident to which I refer were attacked and seriously assaulted by 14 people during a riot. The events in question were captured on CCTV and the footage shows one individual being hit 80 times. The previous Minister for Justice and Equality was of the view that there was nothing wrong with this and that it was fine to allow the matter to be swept under the carpet. That is the type of thing which happened prior to Deputy Fitzgerald's appointment and of which we had become sick and tired. I hope we can look forward to better during her term of office.

Morale within An Garda Síochána is currently at an all-time low. That should not be the case, because 99.9% of members of the force - regardless of whether they are ordinary rank and file officers, sergeants, superintendents or whatever - are respectable individuals who do their jobs to the best of their ability each day. Those to whom I refer take pride in their work, believe in what they are doing and deserve our full support. Unfortunately, however, the resources of An Garda Síochána - the current Government has the worst record in this regard - are being attacked and cut so much that it is no wonder morale is so low. Previously, gardaí worked in stations which were almost falling down. In the past 15 years, however, many of these stations were refurbished at enormous expense. That was a great investment in essential items of infrastructure that were important to our communities. However, the previous Minister - working in cahoots with the former Garda Commissioner - closed many of these stations in rural areas. At that time, I stated on the record of the Dáil that it would cost more to keep the stations in question closed than would have been the case if they had remained open.

The then Minister performed so many U-turns that he met himself coming in the opposite direction. He twisted his story on each occasion on which he was questioned as to why he wanted to close these stations. In the first instance he stated that he was doing so to save money. When he was proven wrong in this regard, he stated that it was nothing to do with money but that it related to better policing. When he was tackled on the question of how it would lead to better policing, particularly as gardaí would be removed from the areas in which they were supposed to operate, he informed us that special vans similar to mobile police barracks would travel throughout the country and that people could meet officers in the back of these vehicles in order to discuss matters with them. The vans in question never materialised. They formed part of another bluff. We were then informed that gardaí would meet people in post offices and community centres, but this proved to be yet another bluff. This is the type of treatment that was meted out to politicians, the general public and members of An Garda Síochána.

Those to whom I refer were blackguarded by the Minister's predecessor, who will go down in history. When praising the former Minister, the Taoiseach stated that he would go down in history as one of the most reforming Ministers of Justice and Equality of all time. He will go down in history all right, but it will not be for the reforms he introduced; rather, it will be for the hurt he inflicted on those rural communities in which some fine Garda stations have been closed. In all likelihood, those stations will never be reopened. The Department is trying to offload these stations by seeking to convince people that it is doing them a favour by allowing them to be used for community activities. One one hand, Garda stations are being closed, while on the other, communities are being informed that they can use them for whatever purpose as long as they pay for their upkeep. The latter is because those in government do not want to be shamed in the Dáil as a result of being obliged to account for the amount of money it is costing to ensure that the stations in question remain closed compared to what it would have cost to keep them open.

There are other explanations as to why morale within An Garda Síochána is so low. The former Minister also thought it was a good idea to pursue those who hold licensed firearms. He decided to take away the licences of gun enthusiasts who had spent a great deal of money on their firearms. Those to whom I refer keep their guns properly and comply with all relevant health and safety regulations. However, the previous Minister informed them that they would no longer be able to keep high-powered rifles. People in this country engage in shooting as a sport, and rifle and gun clubs would have been obliged to close down as a result of the former Minister's insane actions. He did nothing about illegal firearms. Where is the logic in that? Deputy Shatter did not refer to illegal firearms but instead sought to pursue respectable people who hold licensed weapons. I plead with the current Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, not to go down the same road. Those who hold licensed firearms are responsible individuals. Representatives from a number of gun clubs and other organisations gave a presentation in Buswells Hotel a couple of weeks ago. These are individuals who are steeped in their sport, whether it involves shooting, hunting or target shooting. Indeed, this sport is an industry, but the previous Minister, for some reason known only to him, decided to pursue those within it. I hope the current Minister will be more understanding than her predecessor.

I take this opportunity to wish the acting Garda Commissioner, Noirín O'Sullivan, well in her role. I met her earlier today and I have no doubt that she is extremely competent. Like the Minister, all she needs to do is consider what happened in the past and the fact that there was an unhealthy relationship between the former Commissioner and the previous Minister for Justice and Equality. We are all aware of the position to which that led us.

Everyone has his or her own story to tell. With regard to the confidential recipient, I questioned the former Garda Commissioner and the Minister's predecessor when they came before the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. Late one night I received a telephone call from a person who was friendly with me, who said, "You are after making a sore bed for yourself because I believe they are now going to go after you."

They did go after me and all I can say about the outcome - I will not go into the personal side of it - is that they tried a lot on me. Anyway, the one good thing about it is that I am still here while the former Minister for Justice and Equality is gone, as is the Commissioner, and I am not sorry. They know what they tried to do to me.

Reference was made to the Secretary General of the Department contacting the Commissioner in the way that he did. We have often heard of the visit from the Grim Reaper. No one would look forward to the Secretary General calling to his home late at night because it means something rather bad or ominous is going to happen.

All we can say is that we are where we are now. I am not a person to keep looking behind me; I can only look forward. We look forward to the fact that the current Minister is unlikely to come to this role in the way the previous Minister did, so full of tackling challenges that he wanted to tear asunder the Four Courts and the Judiciary. He wanted to attack. He had more enemies than any other person I have ever known in my life. He was simply on a solo run. He wanted to attack, change and, as he termed it, reform. Where did it get him? What did he achieve in his time? Little of any substance, only the harm he did, especially the harm to rank and file members of An Garda Síochána.

Often, he was questioned in the House. I remember Deputy Mattie McGrath tackling him one day in the House about batteries for flashlamps, because the Department had cut the allowance to the Garda for such simple items. That was a disgrace. How can we expect the Garda force to operate unless it is adequately financed and resourced for the equipment it needs?

Another thing that happened under his watch had serious consequences. He laughed at the matter when it was raised in the House by me. I am referring to the removal of Uzi submachine guns from the force. That should never have happened. Again, it was a stupid idea by a person who simply could not get it. The guns were available and they were bought and paid for. Gardaí were trained in their use. He thought he could penny-pinch or save something by removing them from gardaí. Senior members of An Garda Síochána said the measure put lives at risk because it showed a weakness in the force and they were dealing with highly organised and well-resourced criminal gangs with endless firepower at their disposal. What was our Minister's answer at the time? It was to take the guns from our gardaí and leave them with nothing. Even in the darkest days of the 1970s and 1980s when money was scarce and things were bad, the Garda had Uzi submachine guns. Detectives had a machine gun in the car. At least it was a little safety measure and something of a deterrent to certain criminal and rogue elements.

These are things the Minister should consider in making her mark, if she wants to be a properly reforming Minister, a Minister who understands and who listens. Unfortunately, for the past three years we have had a person who not only would not listen but who simply would not consider listening to suggestions, whether it was from his own backbenchers, whom he detested, Opposition Members, whom he detested, members of the public, whom he detested, or members of An Garda Síochána, whom he detested. He simply would not listen to anyone. There is no way the Minister could be like that, and I would never suggest that she would be. We hope that from now on An Garda Síochána can look forward to being adequately resourced. We hope that whistleblowers who wish to come forward with a complaint or a concern can do so. We hope that we will not have a Commissioner who will think such people are disgusting and who will not look down his nose at people who wish to come out and say something. We hope that when people have an issue or a concern they are treated with the respect they deserve.

People have fallen on their swords in recent months. Even the most kind-hearted person would find it difficult to feel sorry for them because of their behaviour in the past, some detail of which I have cited. The best thing I can say is that the wheel is always going around. I remember one evening during a particular debate the former Minister, Deputy Shatter, was sneering at me. I remember thinking to myself that the wheel is always going around and God is good at the end of the day. I can say now that the wheel has gone around, I was proved right and God is good.

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