Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an important debate. I pay tribute to gardaí in my own county who died in the course of their duty over the past few years. The context of the debate must be the credibility, integrity and sacrifices that good gardaí have made, and will be asked to make, on our behalf. In particular, recently, Garda Golden and Detective Garda Donohoe were murdered in my county, while some years ago Sergeant Morrissey died as well. Their families suffered a tragic loss as they paid the supreme sacrifice for doing their duty as they saw fit to protect the public. Having listened to my colleague from Leitrim, I refer also to Garda Gary Sheehan, who was killed by an IRA gang some years ago while in full uniform defending the State and trying to protect a man who had been kidnapped.

If there is wrongdoing in the Garda, it must be rooted out. All the complaints the Deputy made are serious, just as those which are the subject of this report are, and I am deeply concerned by all of them. Today at the heart of our society, people are thinking about their own homes and their own security and safety. Our streets in parts of Dublin are not safe. The video on theIrish Independentwebsite yesterday was an appalling reminder for all of us that this criminality is happening openly on our streets. The impact that is having not only in Ireland but also around the world in terms of how people view our country should not be underestimated. Strong leadership is needed now from the Government and Opposition parties and we also need to support the Garda. A greater Garda presence is needed in Dublin and if necessary, the Army should be deployed in support of the civil power.

We must ensure families are safe in their homes.

The other crisis is very damaging to the way the gardaí are perceived. We all stand behind those gardaí, we all want them to do their job as best they can and the vast majority do so. I am concerned that we see members of An Garda Síochána protesting outside this House. We should find a way forward for them and solve the issue they clearly feel so strongly about. We have never needed the gardaí more than we do right now. There has never been a greater need for the Government to act with strong and authoritative support from this House.

At the heart of this debate is not so much what Deputy Lisa Chambers spoke about, namely, the Commissioner, even though I heard everything she said. It is the other part mentioned by the Deputy. If two senior members of An Garda Síochána conspire to trap a whistleblower, who would have been destroyed by the commission if he did not have that tape in his hand, it is at the heart of our system. That is extremely corrupt and profoundly unacceptable. The country cannot accept this. It is bringing into disrepute all of the gardaí who work with might and main with our support every day of the week. This must be dealt with immediately. I do not know if these men have been put on administrative leave. If not, they should be. They should not be acting as gardaí in uniform while this allegation hangs over them. If it is true, it is my view that significant and adverse findings should be made against them.

We are talking about the integrity of the Garda. This vindicates Sergeant McCabe. Somebody was quoted in the report as saying that if they had a problem, they would go to the local gardaí but the problem was not solved. The problem was compounded. Deputies have read the report so they know the issue. Do we want people like Sergeant McCabe or not? I think we want hundreds or thousands of them because most gardaí are like Sergeant McCabe. They are honest, hard-working and profoundly committed men and women and I support them in their tasks. Obviously, Sergeant McCabe's journey to our debate has been very difficult for him and his family but he is a strong person who is exactly what we need in our police force. I would much rather have the likes of him as Commissioner than anybody else from the furnace of problems he has been through. Of all his concerns, the most profound was the murder that subsequently occurred in Limerick. A woman lost her life and it should never have happened. If he was listened to, it may never have happened. It is obviously profoundly upsetting for the victim's family and all of us.

The question is where we go from here. How do we deal with this issue? I understand that the Commissioner is today meeting with the Policing Authority, which is an independent body that will deal with that issue. We must move on. People have said things here today about the Department of Justice and Equality. I want to mention one brave and powerful Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality, Brian Purcell. He stood up to those criminals we are fighting today on the streets of Dublin. He is the man who would not sign forms for Martin Cahill and suffered an attack where he was kidnapped and shot for defending our society and saying that someone could not be a criminal and abuse the system. I know he is no longer Secretary General but I pay tribute to him and his courage and people like him. We need people like him and Sergeant McCabe. We need change. I commend Mr. Justice O'Higgins for his report, which is extremely thorough. Mr. Justice O'Higgins is very clear in his views.

At the end of the day, what do we have? We have a vindication of a very committed Garda, very serious allegations regarding two very senior members of the force and a Commissioner who is answering questions today. They must be dealt with as quickly as possible but we must restore law and order in our cities. We must get back to basics and ensure there is zero tolerance for criminality in our north inner city or any other part of our State. We must support gardaí wherever we can and we must also go a step further. The new Minister of State for communities and the national drugs strategy, Deputy Catherine Byrne, is the ideal person to deal with many inner-city problems. I know the Acting Chairman, Deputy Broughan, has significant knowledge of Dublin issues. Notwithstanding the crisis we face, we have a golden opportunity to go into those areas. We could create a committee with a maximum term of two months to look at these issues, visit these areas, listen in schools and to mothers in shops and come up with firm and convincing plans to ensure things change. A report produced some years ago stated that people living in certain electoral districts in Dublin are more likely to be in jail, to die younger and to have less of an education than people in other parts of the city. There is profound inequality in many of these areas. We now have an opportunity in the tragedy we are facing in this city to deal with it and put in the investment. I commend the Taoiseach on his actions in appointing Deputy Catherine Byrne as Minister of State because she knows better than anybody the issues and how they can be resolved.

Let us grasp the nettle as an Oireachtas and deal with this issue effectively. I commend the members of Fianna Fáil and other parties who recognise that the country wants us to deal with these issues. We can all move forward together on a common platform to look for effective short, medium and long-term solutions to the issues facing the north inner city and other deprived areas of our country.

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