Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Fianna Fáil Party fully supports the establishment of a new independent policing authority to oversee the policing service provided by An Garda Síochána. This authority has been deemed necessary following a number of revelations as to how the Garda Síochána has operated, the resignation of the Garda Commissioner following an intervention from the Taoiseach as shown in the Fennelly commission interim report and the failure of the Government and senior Garda management to respond to internal criticisms of malpractice within the Garda force.

To date, the Fine Gael Party's running of the Department of Justice and Equality has been farcical and has resulted in unprecedented scandals, mismanagement, investigations and resignations in the justice sector. In fairness, I acknowledge the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald's commitment to improve this situation. The independent policing authority should go some way towards restoring the public's confidence in how An Garda Síochána operates following a number of chaotic years.

Even the introduction of this Bill has not been without controversy. The policing authority was due to begin operating in December 2014 but it still has not begun its work in full. Despite the Government appointing a chair designate of the authority, a comprehensive budget to run the new body has yet to be agreed. Without a proper budget and without proper resources, this authority will be toothless and unable to do the job required. I hope the Minister can outline when a full budget and staff will be agreed for the authority and when it will be fully operational. It is almost a year after the authority was supposed to be fully operational and we all deserve clarity in this matter.

There is also increasing commentary that this Bill has been watered down to reduce the Garda Commissioner's accountability to the authority, that human rights will not form part of the authority's remit and that it has reduced powers surrounding oversight as to the resources of the Garda force. The Government continually states that this legislation will result in the most fundamental change in how An Garda Síochána operates since the State's foundation. I hope the Minister and the Government are willing to make these reforms stick. We have seen how the legal services Bill has been watered down and delayed for the past two years. I hope we are not witnessing a similar rolling back of reforms in the Bill now before the House.

We must ask ourselves whether this Bill will stand the test of time or if further reform will be necessary in the years to come. We must all learn from the example of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 which failed to prevent the malpractice which has been witnessed in certain quarters of An Garda Síochána over the past three years. We need to ensure that this Bill will last. I believe the jury is still out on the legislation in this regard.

I must raise also the question of the unity of senior Garda management at present. Recently, it was reported that a significant number of assistant commissioners arranged their own meeting in Portlaoise to discuss issues of concern. Notably, no invitation was issued to the Garda Commissioner. I am not sure who was aware of that meeting. This is a concerning and unprecedented development and the Minister should outline why she believes this meeting took place, if she considers it appropriate and if she believes it is conducive to the workings and management of the Garda.

If the national police service is to operate effectively to keep the people safe and to tackle crime, it must act in unison in its cause. Senior management have a duty and responsibility to focus on their roles and strategic areas to guarantee a fully functioning police force. One of the most obvious failings of the Garda force, as outlined in the Guerin report, was the total failure of senior Garda oversight of what was happening in the Cavan and Monaghan area. I hope the new Garda authority will address this failing of oversight which may still exist in many parts of An Garda Síochána. We need to ensure that the trust the public currently has in the Garda is maintained. In this regard, the Bill will play a vital role.

The justice sector has a long road to travel to restore full confidence in its operation. One legacy of recent controversies is the failure to fill senior justice positions. I question why we still have not seen the appointment of a deputy commissioner to the Garda force.

The Garda website still names the current Commissioner, Nóirín O'Sullivan, as the deputy commissioner for operations of the force. Given the importance of this role, I question why this is the case, given the fact the Garda Commissioner has been in her position, acting or otherwise, since March 2014. There seems to be great difficulty in appointing new personnel in the justice sector as a result of the scorched earth left in justice by the Minister's predecessor. The Minister has yet to appoint a Secretary General, which must result in the undermining of the performance of the Department, which is one of the most important in the State. The Minister might update us on the process.

The swift establishment of the Garda Authority must be a priority, given that a number of matters require urgent attention from Government, the Garda and the Garda Authority. The scourge of burglaries in particular needs immediate attention. I have raised the matter in the House several times this week and it is a theme of discussion at the National Ploughing Championships. I raise it again today out of frustration. We have witnessed, over the summer, some of the most violent crimes committed against elderly people who have been burgled in their homes. The elderly lady who was burgled in Bray, 90 years of age and assaulted and dragged around her own home, is a case in point. It is outrageous that there is not a more comprehensive response from the Government.

This week, I stated ironically that there were more gardaí outside Leinster House at midday to police a phantom protest than there were in rural communities across Ireland. This shows the Government's priorities when allocating Garda resources. Burglary is up 8% in the latest CSO crime statistics. There were 28,583 recorded burglaries in the 12 month period ending in the first quarter of 2015. Yet nothing seems to be done. For months, the Government denied that there was a problem. It hid behind the fact that the CSO had stopped publishing crime statistics. It cannot deny that there is a crisis. The Minister has promised legislative reform in burglary law and bail law. When will this legislation be enacted?

Specifically looking at our bail laws, 8,077 burglaries were committed by people who were on bail in the period from 2011 to date. As I have already said, this is outrageous and shows that our criminal justice system is working for the criminals, not for the ordinary decent people of our country. It is time the Government woke up to the crisis and spent more time acting to end the burglary crisis than on press releases and photo shoots.

Fianna Fáil has already published a number of pieces of legislation to address the crisis, all of which have been ignored. We have already stated that our first priority in justice is to ensure the Garda Síochána has the necessary membership and technology to provide a first-class police service. We will not let rural Ireland go unprotected. We will make the criminal justice system work for our ordinary, law abiding citizens again. We will listen to local communities' concerns when they say they live in fear in their homes. We will act. We will not over promise and under deliver, as we have witnessed from the opposite side of the House. We will not sit on our hands. While I welcome the Bill, questions remain surrounding the Government's commitment to comprehensive reform and its full implementation.

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