Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In due course, I will come to the statement released by the Commissioner earlier today, but it is important first to look at the O'Higgins report and exactly what it contains. We know that it was a recommendation from the Guerin report, and on 19 November 2014 the Government decided that the matters were of such public concern that they warranted a commission of investigation. A resolution approving that commission was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas in November 2014.

The commission of investigation looked into allegations of malpractice in the Cavan-Monaghan division of An Garda Síochána from 2007 to 2010. There were 12 matters specified in the terms of reference. These predominantly concerned specific investigations by gardaí into alleged offences, but also included the manner in which the complaints of Sergeant McCabe were dealt with by An Garda Síochána, the then Minister for Justice and Equality, the Department of Justice and Equality and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.

The report was 360 pages long and I have read all of it. It goes into a detailed analysis of the incidents. In fact, chapters 4 to 11 outline all the individual cases that came before the commission. Some of them were touched on by Deputy O'Callaghan in his contribution. They include the Kingscourt bus incident, the Lakeside Manor Hotel assault, the incidents involving Jerry McGrath, an incident in Cafolla's restaurant, an assault in Cootehill, a dangerous driving incident at the Lakeside Manor Hotel, an incident at Crossan's public house, and the Michael Molloy investigation and the issue of the missing computer. It is important to state that in all of those cases, which are outlined in chapters 4 to 11, it is clear that the victims of those crimes did not receive justice. They did not have their allegations and complaints properly investigated, and we failed them. Those victims were failed not only by members of An Garda Síochána but also by us as legislators and by society. It is incumbent upon all of us, regardless of our political persuasion, to ensure that this type of behaviour never happens again.

Chapter 12, which is also fairly detailed, deals with incidents concerning the PULSE system. While that chapter does not indicate that any corruption took place, it may be justified depending on the case, and there were many incidents in which the timing of updates was a factor. It makes particular reference to the driving licence and insurance production system, and traffic incidents after which PULSE updates took place. Many of the points about the PULSE system have been debated here previously.

Chapter 13 describes the investigation by An Garda Síochána, the Minister and the Department of Justice and Equality of the complaints by Sergeant McCabe. While the report does find that there was no basis to any of the allegations of corruption, obviously it found that many of the complaints were upheld. Chapter 14 deals with the conduct of policing in Bailieborough itself. The report found that while there were issues of management and resources, ultimately, the failures investigated by the commission were at a human level, caused by poor individual performance and in many instances poor supervision.

All of that leads to chapter 15, which contains the recommendations. It is worth noting that while it was not incumbent on the commission to make recommendations, neither was there anything prohibiting it from making them. The fact that we have a large number of recommendations from the commission of investigation goes to show the level of concern the judge had about the incidents in Cavan-Monaghan. One would have to surmise that if we have cases of a lack of supervision in one particular district, this may be replicated in other districts. It is important, therefore, that the recommendations be taken on board and implemented in order to ensure that such matters do not recur, not just in Cavan-Monaghan but also in other areas throughout the State.

Deputy Micheál Martin mentioned some of the recommendations with regard to victim impact statements and their use, as well as the computer crime division and ensuring it is properly resourced. I note from the Commissioner's statement today that she has already set about the task of implementing those recommendations. She has asked one of her assistant commissioners to examine that matter. I also know that the Minister has had discussions with her concerning the recommendations.

It is unfortunate that in the lead up to the report's publication there was some selective leaking of its contents. I completely agree that this should not have happened. Maybe that forced the Minister's hand in publishing it when she did, but once it was published, unfortunately, the Minister had to leave the country. I am not saying that was-----

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