Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last week I published the report of the O'Higgins commission into certain matters relevant to the Cavan-Monaghan division of An Garda Síochána. It is a report that deserves the most careful consideration in order that we can do everything possible to avoid a repeat of the mistakes and issues outlined in it, particularly from the victims' perspective.

I am sure most Deputies will agree with me that it is disheartening to read about the experiences of victims. We saw an account of Mary Lyons last night on RTE. We noted the horror that had been visited on her and other victims.

I said I believed the report was thoughtful and thorough; I believe it is. It does deal with events in 2007 and 2008. The Deputy's question is on the implementation plans for the recommendations. Obviously, the report will be forwarded to An Garda Síochána for an immediate response from management and also to the Policing Authority which will undoubtedly have a role in overseeing implementation of the recommendations. There has been a series of initiatives since the time in question and since I asked the Garda Inspectorate to examine the Guerin report. In report No. 10 on criminal investigations it made comments on the Guerin report, how it needed to be taken forward and how it linked in with the recommendations it had already made. Therefore, there has been a lot of action on some of the issues identified by the O'Higgins commission, including, in particular, the initiatives concerning how victims are dealt with by An Garda Síochána with the establishment of the new victim offices throughout the country.

With regard to training and supervision, we recently saw the appointment of well over 280 sergeants and inspectors who will have a very particular role in supervision. There is new training in Templemore, but that is not to say there is not a lot more work to be done on the issues raised within the report.

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