Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad of the opportunity to speak on this important matter even though I do not agree with the process of recruitment that Deputy Ross proposes in this Bill. It is true that An Garda Síochána has been subject to close scrutiny over the past few months, and rightly so. No section of society is above scrutiny but I believe that much of the discussion has been reckless and there have been attempts to paint a picture of our police service as corrupt in its totality. I reject this viewpoint and use the phrase "police service" deliberately because An Garda Síochána provides an absolutely necessary service to our society, working in an unarmed capacity to ensure the rest of us can go about our daily lives without much concern for policing matters. If we have not had direct contact with An Garda Síochána personally we certainly have heard anecdotally of the kindness, compassion and professionalism with which people have been treated by members of the service, whether at the scene of a serious crime, traffic accident or even petty thieving.

Such is human nature that there are criminal elements in our society who have little or no regard for human life much less the lives of An Garda Síochána. It is important we never forget those who lost their lives in the line of duty over the years and indeed the many innocent victims of gun crime with which we are all too familiar.

The majority of the members of An Garda Síochána are decent hardworking men and women, many with families. They head out to work each day not knowing who or what they will encounter in the course of their day's work. Having read the Bill and heard Deputy Ross's contribution last night, I am at a loss to understand why he believes this Bill will have any impact on the many and necessary changes needed in policing in this country. He is surely aware of the measures taken by this Government to deal with legacy issues, for example, the Guerin and Cooke reports, the establishment of the Fennelly commission of investigation, the external independent review of the workings of the Department of Justice and Equality, all of which will inform decision-making on improving the policing and justice system in this country. He claims that his Bill will place senior Garda appointments at arm's length from the political system while at the same time it proposes placing the decision on the appointment of the Garda Commissioner right at the heart of the political system, here in Dáil Éireann.

How would this work in practice? If the Dáil decided not to accept the recommendation of the appointments board that he proposes, how would this affect the career of the rejected candidate? It might work against getting the best person for the job. Who would risk the possibility of such public humiliation? He seems to be claiming that the current system of senior Garda appointments is the cause of difficulties within the system. I do not see the evidence for this. The Minister has already committed to a public recruitment process to fill the Garda Commissioner vacancy and the Government has committed to the establishment of an independent Garda authority this year.

I welcome the consultation process which is taking place, including the event arranged by the Minister this Friday at Farmleigh. As a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, I participated in the recent hearings on Garda oversight. I also visited Northern Ireland and Scotland with fellow members of the committee last week, where we saw at first hand how the police authorities work in both jurisdictions. Each police service is unique and so are their oversight bodies. Their responsibilities include setting the budget for the police service, deciding on police numbers, continuous improvement of the service and the appointment of senior officers. They also ensure communities are consulted as part of their policing plan and are an integral part of it to provide for personal, professional and protective policing. We have much to consider and our report will be ready for the Minister within weeks.

A fair analysis of the range of actions taken by the Government to date will reveal that it is pursuing a comprehensive programme of reform. I do not believe that Deputy Ross's Bill will add any value to the work taking place and I will not support it.

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