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

An Garda Síochána is perhaps unique. I am not sure if it is the only one, but it is one of the few police services in the world that retains security and policing responsibilities. To compare it with the North is not to make an exact comparison. There are a number of intelligence agencies, including MI5 and MI6, that operate internally and externally from Whitehall and on the banks of the Thames. One of our concerns in this State has been to separate politics from policing as much as we can. We want the police to become a police service with genuinely independent oversight rather than a police force. We want an independent member of the Judiciary who can look at the definition of "security" in the Act, which at least is there and as such is welcome albeit we have some disagreements on it, and adjudicate as recommended by the Chief Justice. This is not a Sinn Féin proposal. It was Mr. Conor Brady who planted the seed for me. It is an eminently sensible proposal and a good and acceptable solution. Nobody would challenge the independence of a judge and, on most occasions, my guess is that the independent member of the Judiciary would agree with An Garda Síochána's assessment. That is my guess and, as such, I do not see the problem.

Historically, the Department of Justice and Equality has failed, as proven in the recent report, substantially in its oversight role. Notwithstanding the fact that the Minister and the Department have failed to fulfil the responsibilities of their oversight of An Garda Síochána, they wish to retain that function. I am disappointed that the Minister was there that day in the company of Mr. Conor Brady and Dr. Vicky Conway, two people who are very respected for their analysis of the changes required, but takes this view. While the Garda Commissioner gave an impressive presentation yesterday, that presentation is undermined by the politicians and departmental officials who insist on retaining control. I do not see any viable reason for the Government to refuse to accept the amendment which is based on an idea put forward by Conor Brady. Everyone in the room thought it was a good idea, including the Law Society, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and even the Minister. Obviously, someone in the Department got in her ear and said "You don't want to let this happen". That is not the change we need.

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