John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute briefly to the debate on this Bill, which allows us to address the issues that have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. I commend the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, on acting speedily to set a process in train to deal with a multitude of problems and introduce badly needed reform. Members on all sides of the House will agree that the process should be transparent and accountable, and help to restore confidence in our police force and the morale of gardaí on the front line. I agree with the thrust of what Deputy Ross is trying to achieve with this Bill in regard to removing political influence from the appointment of Garda Commissioner and senior officers. The question arises, however, of how we will achieve that objective. I agree with the Minister that it is an obvious task for the new Garda authority and welcome that the authority will be in place by the end of this year. These appointments should be made transparently on the basis of merit. Anecdotally, some members of the Garda believe that appointments were not made on the basis of merit. This is an opportunity to make a clean slate.

The new Garda authority will be key to this reform. It should create a buffer between the Garda, on the one hand, and the Government of the day, on the other. It is also key to the restoration of confidence in the Garda, which has been affected by the many controversies that have arisen. I suggest that the authority should not only oversee senior appointments but also the entire strategy.

There should be a strategy drawn up that would have to be reported on to this House, and there should be accountability on targets. There should also be an annual report on policing to the Oireachtas.

Morale has been at a low ebb in recent months among the 99.9% of the Garda that is good, which is unfortunate. All these gardaí work to the highest standards and they put their lives at risk protecting law-abiding citizens in a modern society where human life is not as highly regarded as it was once. We need to start this process quickly and the announced reforms will succeed in restoring that confidence and morale in the Garda Síochána.

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