Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality was no doubt highly impressed by the speed and efficiency with which Mr. Justice Charleton commenced the proceedings of the disclosure tribunal earlier this week. She probably hoped this would allow her to put the Garda controversies behind her but sadly that is not the case because the disclosures by Garda whistleblowers are only one aspect of the serious questions regarding An Garda Síochána. The Minister is aware of five other pending statutory inquiries into Garda negligence and malpractice. In 2002, we had the tragic death of Shane Tuohey after a night out. The Garda investigation into Mr. Tuohey's death was flawed and his family was targeted. Patrick Nugent, a 23 year old banqueting manager in Bunratty Castle, died horrifically after a function at which off duty gardaí were in attendance. The inquest into Mr. Nugent's death and internal Garda inquiries have led to further questions. Another case involves 24 year old John Kelly from Tallaght who drowned in Dublin's docklands after screaming for 30 minutes while gardaí stood back. Another case is that of James Clancy, a man in his 80s, who was killed after being dragged along a road by a truck. Documents subsequently went missing and the driver of the truck was never found. In all of these cases, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality has refused to engage with Kevin Winters, the legal counsel for those who are seeking information on the terms of reference of the inquiries and wish to ensure they are compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the meantime, the Tánaiste has engaged with the Policing Authority, which is not an alternative to including victims in the process. More important, why has the Policing Authority, which has the power to demand the convening of such inquiries, not done so? The reason is that, despite all of the Tánaiste's bleatings about dealing with reform and Garda oversight, these issues have not been addressed. Unless she addresses the question as to who is guarding the gardaí, these problems will continue.

Members of the Policing Authority were hand-picked by the Government and the authority was structured in a manner that would ensure it was subservient to government. Its first test was the appointment of new assistant commissioners, for which there were 31 applicants. On the date the Oireachtas signed off on the terms of reference for the inquiry into allegations of misconduct by the Garda Commissioner, we found out that the very same Commissioner had nominated herself to be on the selection board for the assistant commissioner positions. Nobody on the Policing Authority or in government had any problem with this decision, about which we sought information and eventually received confirmation. We then learned that the position had suddenly changed between Monday and Tuesday of this week and the Garda Commissioner would no longer be on the selection board because she was a bit busy. She had, however, appointed her loyal sidekick, Dónall Ó Cualáin, an individual who is involved in a number of these cases, to the selection board. This is an absolute joke. How, in God's name, can the Commissioner continue to influence vital decisions regarding the future of An Garda Síochána when she is under serious investigation? What is the point of a Policing Authority that can and will do nothing to exercise its independence?

I have some other brief questions for the Tánaiste.

Will the Minister, Deputy Bruton, ensure that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality will engage immediately with the legal counsel of the people in the statutory inquiries? Will he accept that the position of the Garda Commissioner is untenable and that she should be asked to step down and will he move immediately to bring in the legislative reform necessary for proper democratic oversight and accountability of An Garda Síochána?

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