Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Whenever we met the ombudsman in the North as part of the Oireachtas justice committee's preparation for putting recommendations and proposals to the Minister, one of the things that became apparent is that the ombudsman in the North has the same powers as the police in terms of the Official Secrets Act and so on. In other words, it has unrestricted access. It smacks as being very arrogant that the only people who can protect the security of State are the Government of the day or the senior members of An Garda Síochána. Where we want to get to is to give the oversight body the capacity to do its job, unless there is some sensitive issue involved.

My concern is that not too many people in Ireland had confidence in the former Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, in terms of his independence, when he left office. They saw that he was joined at the hip to the Garda. He has been found again and again, be it by the Comptroller and Auditor General or the Garda Inspectorate, not to have been on top of his job in terms of looking at failings within the Garda. Indeed, the review by the independent panel of the Department of Justice and Equality also found that the Department was failing in its responsibility to hold the Garda to account. The problem historically, be it with the Minister or the Department of Justice and Equality, is that they have been too close to An Garda Síochána and their independence in these matters - the Minister talked earlier about perception - is perceived as not being too strong.

I am sure there are examples in other jurisdictions. I cannot see the difficulty in allowing a very senior judge, perhaps up to Supreme Court level - an esteemed person, learned in the law - to adjudicate on these matters. This would assure the public that they have looked at the matter and they believe An Garda Síochána is entitled to withhold on security grounds. This would also serve to define clearly what are security grounds. We need to be clear what is national security because it could be an extremely loose term or be understood very loosely.

I believe the Minister is giving herself far too much power, with all due respect, considering the track record of what came before her and the history of the Department in recent times. She should not take my word for it, given the range of independent analysis. I believe it is a foolish decision. If the Minister persists in not accepting the amendment, I will call a vote.

See this speech in context