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

We certainly will not be withdrawing it. I am a little surprised the Minister of State did not deal with the issue raised, which concerned why the Government removed the proposal from the heads of the Bill concerning the section in question. I know from what she said that the Attorney General, who popped up in another scenario similar to this one, is being used but she did not say the proposal is not possible in this instance because it was obviously in the heads.

Comparing this State with Northern Ireland is completely disingenuous because it is precisely under this clause that Northern Ireland is leaps and bounds ahead of us. The North accords its code of ethics a far stronger status. It represents a standard by which the police are measured there. In fact, the Chief Constable in the North is obliged by law to ensure all his officers have read and understood the code. This requirement was in the heads of the Bill but was taken out in the final draft. It is important to note that the policing principles in the North set out that when carrying out their functions, the police must be guided by the code of ethics, which again gives the code added status. The board in the North includes an assessment in its annual report as to the performance of the police in this regard. Therefore, there is a completely different ballgame in the North. It would be far more accurate to state the amendment before the House in our names is precisely seeking to have a Northern Ireland scenario whereby a code of ethics would be given status and all ranks of the Garda would be required to behave in accordance therewith. The Garda Commissioner would be accountable for enforcing it. The reason, as outlined by Deputy Wallace, is precisely because there is a need for public scrutiny of Garda behaviour. There is a need to have democratic accountability in the Garda as a result of some horrendous activities that have been ongoing in this State over years. We need to include the code to guide behaviour in the interest of all in society.

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