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

This question also relates to the commission of investigation carried out by Mr. Justice Kevin O'Higgins. I thank Mr Justice O'Higgins and his team for the manner in which they fulfilled their mandate. Mr. Seán Guerin, on presenting his report to Cabinet, recommended the establishment of a commission of investigation into all of the matters addressed in his report. The Cabinet accepted Mr. Guerin's recommendations in full and asked Mr. Justice O'Higgins to investigate, as definitively as possible, the facts surrounding the matters he was asked to examine.

Inevitably, Mr. Justice O'Higgins reaches a number of conclusions about the roles played by a number of persons in the events outlined in his report. As I stated at the launch of the report, I hope all those affected can accept, as I do fully, that Mr. Justice O'Higgins looked at the facts fairly and dispassionately and made every effort to do justice to the positions of all. As I have stated previously, the central issue is that the Garda takes steps to ensure the victims of crime and those who report crimes are dealt with properly.

Some of the events investigated by Mr. Justice O’Higgins go back a decade. For my part, it is clear that the system in place until a couple of years ago for dealing with reports of wrongdoing within the Garda did not serve anyone particularly well. Deputy Howlin, in his previous role as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, introduced the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which allowed gardaí making allegations of wrongdoing in the Garda to go directly to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and enjoy protection under the new legislation. Previously, such allegations had to be dealt with in the Garda but this approach did not work and protected disclosures may now be made to GSOC.

In the past two years, the Policing Authority has also been established and the powers of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission have been strengthened. The Garda Commissioner will also announce a reform programme next week.

We should note what the O'Higgins report has to say about each of the individuals central to the establishment of the commission of investigation and the events it was tasked with investigating.

I accept in full the findings of the report, as does the Government. We need to take measures not to repeat the failures that existed in the past.

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