Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Wallace made the point yesterday that in terms of Garda reform, the area where the Government has excelled itself over the last few months is in the area of spin and presentation rather than in substance. We do not, in any way, make those points lightly but they are based on the experience in the period of time since the changeover from the former Minister, Deputy Shatter, to the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald. Many people had high hopes that the promised reforms, which the dogs on the street knew were absolutely necessary, would be delivered but what we have seen is a slowing down of a legislative programme in this area.

I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy English, but all of our schedules change. This Bill was scheduled for discussion today and was likely to come up at this time. The Minister should be here because if I am not wrong, I think this is the only legislation her Department has moved since the former Minister left. It sums up the situation we are in where the overall approach would seem to be characterised by broken promises, diluted reforms and a careful media strategy. It is also summed up in the GSOC Bill and Deputy Wallace made many points in regard to the detail. It improves the situation for GSOC a little but the Government could have done much more. I will not repeat the points but we included that in legislation moved by Deputy Wallace twice, that is, real Garda accountability and reform that would have given GSOC teeth.

We have had quite considerable dealings with GSOC. When we met it and heard about its role, we thought it was just a whitewash - there to give the impression of accountability but very much part of a cabal. Our experience of dealing with it would lead us to believe that we were wrong in that original interpretation and that the problem with GSOC was that it was structured in a manner that was designed to fail. Despite the best intentions of the people in it, they are not given sufficient legislative power to do the job they have been tasked with and this reform does not give them that power either. It is too little and not timely enough. I suppose that is the key problem with it.

Initially, there was denial that the blue wall of silence still existed but then when the evidence could no longer be ignored, an acknowledgment was made that it existed and that our police service needed to be brought into the 21st century, modernised, turned on its head and made accountable to the people. The way in which that should be done is by having an outside body capable of scrutinising it, certainly an enhanced role for GSOC, a role for an independent Garda authority and changes from within. One could not help but be absolutely raging at the announcements about the political appointments of the new chair of the not yet constructed police authority and the new Garda Commissioner. That is not, in any way, to be personally derogatory to the two women who got the jobs but to make the point that it is not enough. One cannot change an institution with the same people who were part of the problem being built into it and making them the magic wand to transform the organisation. There is no international example that would show that to be the case.

Everybody knows An Garda Síochána is quite dysfunctional. There is a huge problem at the top of that organisation and to appoint somebody who came from the top of it to lead it into a changed environment is not the way forward. The Northern Ireland model, which would have encouraged some of those in the hierarchy out to make way for fresh ideas, would have been the way to do it but the Government chose not to do that, which is an indication that it does not want serious reform.

4 o’clock

The report from the Fennelly commission which the Taoiseach promised for the end of this year has not been delivered illustrating the lack of commitment to reform. The weak Garda authority indicated now is a problem.

A serious problem for citizens is that the review mechanism set up by the Minister for Justice and Equality for cases of Garda malpractice, which she told us in the summer would take six to eight weeks to complete, has not given any feedback although it has gone through some cases. We know the outcome will not be satisfactory because the procedure does not allow citizens to present their evidence orally to the panel of barristers. There is a lack of transparency. The actions have shown the Government’s lack of commitment to any serious reform. Some things will have to change to give a better appearance but the Government could have done a lot more.

When Deputy Wallace made that point yesterday the Taoiseach said very flippantly that he was invited to Farmleigh and did not go. The Taoiseach knows well that we read about our invitation in the newspaper. We got the invitation the day before because there had been a mistake and it had not been given to us. We could not go to the meeting. We immediately thanked the Minister for her invitation and made clear that we could not go. She told us she would like us to be involved in the process and we subsequently asked to be involved but have not heard anything back. Deputy Wallace wrote to ask to be allowed make a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, and published legislation twice on these matters. This corner of the House has engaged in a constructive dialogue.

The Tuohey family went to Farmleigh, the brother and father of Shane Tuohey who died tragically. This family was with us this morning and was dismayed at the appointment of Nóirín O’Sullivan as Garda Commissioner. They had reason recently to contact her when she was acting Garda Commissioner and feel they have been ignored. The Garda Commissioner and the Minister assured them that the case would be considered. New evidence has been brought to the family that witness reports from 2002, and given in 2006, supported what the family has consistently argued, that young Shane Tuohey was injured by people in a car who had an altercation with him. In the past few months it has come to light that the gardaí had that information in their possession for 12 and a half years but never made it available to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. Those same gardaí, however, were able to hound and pursue Eamon Tuohey, the father of the young man who was so tragically killed, with malicious complaints and harassment, trying to have him jailed. The family has initiated High Court proceedings as a result. They are utterly devastated at the appointment of the new Commissioner.

I want to emphasise the point made by Deputy Wallace yesterday about the Garda whistleblower, Nicky Keogh in Athlone. This serving garda made factual, detailed and indisputable allegations of Garda involvement in serious criminal activity involving the heroin trade and entrapment, setting people up in terms of drug dealing. That happened eight months ago. The Garda is conducting an internal investigation which Nicky Keogh has been told is progressing well but nothing else has been said about it. What does somebody like that feel when the acting Garda Commissioner, who said that whistleblowers would be protected inside her force, is appointed Garda Commissioner although his information entered the public domain on her watch? Since then he has been subjected to weekly harassment by senior gardaí who have sought to manufacture complaints against him, unsuccessfully, who monitor everything he does and have been involved in a systematic campaign to undermine him. This is not good enough. The problems with the functioning of An Garda Síochána highlighted in the recent past are still there. If the Government is not serious about changing them it should not say it will appoint an independent policing authority and deal with them when it is not going to do that.

Before Josephine Feehily was appointed as chairperson designate of the independent policing authority the manner of the appointment was roundly condemned by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Dermot Walsh, a foremost expert on proper policing in this State. He spelt out how the manner in which the Government was going about the appointment meant that the process was heavily orientated towards secrecy and Government control, was exclusively in the patronage of the Government and sat very uneasily with the idea of an independent policing authority. It handpicked one woman and used her to make an “open and transparent” – not – decision to appoint another one to the head of the Garda Síochána and nobody knows anything about that process. Calling it open and transparent does not make it so. The reforms to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, although they improve the situation a little bit, are symptomatic of the overall approach on these issues, which is to make it look like the Government is doing something, do a little bit but miss out on significant opportunity to transform radically the police service of this State in the manner that is necessary.

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