Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

An Garda Síochána has moved from crisis to crisis in recent years. In a short space of time we have had to deal with the O'Higgins report, the Charleton tribunal and the most recent scandals involving falsified breath-tests and fixed charge notices, resulting in the wrongful conviction of 14,700 citizens. These citizens have been victims of a huge miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the State and An Garda Síochána. Has the Minister for Justice and Equality considered, or been briefed on, the implications of the fixed-charge notices, in particular? We have focused very much on the wrongful convictions which should be dealt with immediately and swiftly. They should be rectified to the satisfaction of the citizens involved, but what about cases going through the courts system? The Minister will be aware that there was a presumption in favour of An Garda Síochána offered by District Court judges. The presumption was that the fixed charge notice had been sent to, and received by, the individual in question. This presumption can no longer be relied upon. I know of a number of cases that have been dismissed in the courts owing to the inability of the judge to trust the fact that the fixed charge notice was, in fact, sent and received. While there are implications for those wrongfully convicted, there are also implications for cases going through the courts system. It is imperative that we do everything we can to ensure those who should be are convicted, while those who should not are not.

The falsified breath tests have implications for policy. We put together a policy on road safety and gave the impression to citizens that there was strong enforcement of drink driving laws but that has all been undermined. These actions have serious consequences, but sometimes their seriousness has been left to one side. The purpose of our motion is to provide solutions and examine the long-term plan for An Garda Síochána. To hear Sinn Féin state our motion is populist and solely motivated by political purposes goes to the heart of from where it is coming. It is populist for it to turn around a motion within 48 hours. That is motivated by political purposes. We took the time to consider the consequences of the actions we were going to take. We thought about what powers and responsibilities we had as an Opposition party. We also thought about the consequences our actions would have for citizens, the State and An Garda Síochána.

It takes a lot to reach a point where we, as a party, would say that we no longer have confidence in the Garda Commissioner. It takes very exceptional circumstances to warrant such a statement, but we have reached an exceptional point. The crises after crises over which the Garda Commissioner has presided have led us to this point and it is rank and file gardaí who have suffered. Listening today to members of An Garda Síochána talk about how morale is so low in the force, and how their day-to-day operations and duties have become so difficult, really speaks to the heart of the problem. We have to remember those rank and file gardaí that have to go out on the beat every day, engage with citizens and do their job. It is a job that still needs to be done and which has become increasingly difficult because of the failure of the Minister's Government to take action to rectify the systemic and cultural issues facing An Garda Síochána.

While others might condemn Fianna Fáil for the actions that we have taken, we have taken what I believe to be a very practical and responsible approach to this problem. We will always endeavour to do what is in the interests of the State, An Garda Síochána and citizens and to do what is right for all of those.

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