John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Ross on introducing the Bill. I and others find it pitiful that it has taken a member of the Opposition to do so while the Government continues to stick its head in the sand on this issue. That is my estimation from listening to some of tonight’s contributions.

In recent weeks, the world's media has looked on in disbelief as the scandal of the mother and baby homes was allowed to go uncommented on and unchecked by the Government of the day. I have no doubt future generations will gape at the complete and ongoing lack of transparency in the justice system throughout a series of scandals that one would expect to find in South America or the Middle East. The most recent accusations which have come into the public domain concerning the practices of senior, Government-appointed members of An Garda Síochána, such as the whistleblower controversy and the alleged bugging of the office of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, have all demonstrated the unhealthy relationship between the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Garda Commissioner. At the very least, this relationship cannot be deemed best practice. At worst, it is a situation one might see in a banana republic: a system wide open to cronyism and corruption. Contrary to what the Minister said, the reforms proposed in the Bill are long overdue.

Many of us were shocked to hear that the top 200 positions in the Garda Síochána are filled by political or Government appointment, a practice which is open to enormous abuse. The Garda Representative Association itself has been highly critical of the practice. I am loth to imagine the number of highly skilled gardaí who have been passed over for promotion in the past because they did not have the right political or social connections. The effect of that on Garda morale must be truly gutting.

The Garda Representative Association has made representations to Government for a police authority since 1979, to no avail. Surely rank and file gardaí, those at the coalface of the justice system, are better placed than any politician to point out where accountability is most needed. Whether nepotism and political interference are at play, the suspicion always exists and that has a detrimental effect on the good name of the force as a whole.

A recent Millward Brown poll reflected the huge dent which policing scandals have made in the reputation of An Garda Síochána, with 57% of people saying their confidence in the Garda has been damaged as a result. The poll found that seven in ten people believe responsibility for all senior appointments and promotions in the force, including that of Commissioner, should be removed from the Department of Justice and Equality.

An overwhelming 87% believe garda management should be independent of politics. Morale in the force is at an all-time low. The reforms proposed in this Bill, based on the co-principles of open competition and independence, would go a long way towards improving this. Structures, training and forms of accountability all need to be redesigned from scratch with the Garda body stripped of prejudice and its members there to defend hard-won democratic freedoms. Denis Bradley, a former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland policing board, stated:

In most modern societies and democracies something was always placed between the justice Department and the police service to ensure a certain distance and involve as much of society as possible. What we mainly end up is some form of policing authority which is made up of people from different political parties, plus independently minded people, so one has a greater roundness and oversight is not placed in the hands of any one Minister or any one political party.

I am disappointed the Minister said this Bill will interfere with the Government’s proposed legislation in this area. This Bill is specific to the views of 87% of people consistently polled on Garda appointments. I have shown this legislation to several gardaí who found nothing wrong with it. It is disappointing the Government will reject this Bill entirely tonight.

See this speech in context