Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are already on the record as saying we are concerned the issues have been a good bit rushed. We are a little bit worried about that albeit we hope our worries will not be realised. It is not the way we wanted it but we are where we are. I have heard nothing but good things about Mr. Justice Charleton and I really hope he can deliver without our worries coming to fruition. I echo the points about finances. I hope he is given the money up front to fast-track this and also that he is listened to in terms of broader recommendations he might have.

We are satisfied that the terms of reference cover the key concerns raised in the protected disclosures of Maurice McCabe and David Taylor. Those allegations are, at their heart, that there was a campaign to undermine and discredit Maurice McCabe with the direct knowledge of the current and former Commissioners. Horrible and all as that is and upsetting as this entire episode has been for so many citizens, what is most frightening is the allegation that this was done in order to detract from what he was saying. What he was saying was that we have a systemic problem in An Garda Síochána and that the blue wall of silence has only been dented, not demolished. As a result, we have a second Morris tribunal because the recommendations of the first one and the required cultural changes were not implemented. We owe it to Maurice McCabe and the other whistleblowers to ensure that the bigger picture is not lost sight of. That is why we need a radical transformation of how we do policing.

In fairness, the Minister is paying the price for not listening to us a number of years ago. While Fine Gael and the Labour Party, which was in government and stood over all of this, brought in legislation, it was not enough. The Minister has already accepted that the recommendations of the justice committee, which we released and which argued for a massive strengthening of the GSOC oversight and the role of the Policing Authority, should be looked at and addressed. We said that two years ago. If the Government had done it then, we might not be in the mess we are in now. It needs to be done now because, glaringly, the independent Policing Authority has been silent in the face of the biggest Garda crisis in our history because it has not been given a proper role of oversight or control over the Commissioner as it should have been.

While I am happy with the terms of reference and I acknowledge very much the Minister's role in extending them, we have believed all along that there were really compelling reasons the other whistleblowers should have been included. They show an unbroken thread of bullying, harassment and intimidation once they made protected disclosures. Their input is going to be vital. Up until very late last night, and I know how late the Minister was up, they were not being included with the exception of the small Tusla allegation in Keith Harrison's case. I am very glad that they are all now going to be included in the second module which I hope comes sooner rather than later.

We know tribunals cannot investigate matters which could be the subject of criminal sanction. As such, there must be a parallel criminal investigation in this regard. It is very worrying that no one is ever called to account for these matters. I bring the Minister back to what the media say this issue started with, namely the penalty points crisis. It did not really, but that was one of the things. The Minister's predecessor and herself put aside funds for GSOC to initiate a criminal or disciplinary investigation against the people responsible for that action.

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