Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Renua Ireland) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the decision of the Minister to establish an independent policing authority. This step is long overdue and while I do not underestimate the challenges it will pose and have some concerns about the Bill, it is a welcome development overall. This debate provides us with an appropriate reminder, if one were needed, of the sequence of scandals and reports which have led us to this point, the most notable of which have been the Guerin and Toland reports and, most recently, the interim report of the Fennelly commission. All of the events which led to these reports and their findings are matters of deep and existential concern which strike at the heart of our democracy. If we cannot have faith in the ability of the police or the security of the State and if we cannot have confidence that the duties of the police force and justice Minister will be conducted in an efficient, transparent, honest and open fashion, our democracy has a serious problem. Good administration and management of justice and security go to the core of democracy in all states.

The policing authority has been a long time coming. A proposal to establish one has been on the table since the summer of 2014 and, as I indicated, I welcome its establishment. However, I note a tendency at the highest levels of Government to point to its imminent arrival as if it will solve all the problems in the justice system and Garda Síochána. Such an assumption would be wrong because a policing authority is only part of the solution and anyone who believes otherwise is seriously mistaken.

The fundamental question facing us and the Minister in performing her tasks is whether the establishment of a Garda authority will restore public confidence in the national police force. Following recent events, there is no doubt that public confidence in the Garda is at an all-time low. In 2014, the Toland report recommended that "The Minister for Justice, through the Department, needs to hold An Garda Síochána accountable as a critical and resource intensive public service, while respecting their operational independence". I fully acknowledge that this is difficult and a tricky balance to strike. Previous speakers referred to the need for the concept of public service to be instilled at the heart of policing and I fully endorse that sentiment.

It has been 15 months since Mr. Brian Purcell left his position as Secretary General of the Department and he has not yet been replaced. How can members of the public have confidence in the Department's ability to hold the Garda Síochána accountable, as required by the Toland report, when the Department is unable to fill one of its key leadership positions? This is a cause of significant concern and must be addressed by the Minister as a matter of absolute priority and urgent importance.

The Minister informed the House that one of the changes that has taken place in the Department in response to the Toland report is that she now formally meets her Secretary General on a monthly basis. I find it hard to understand that any Minister could, would or should run a Department without meeting his or her Secretary General much more frequently than monthly.

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