Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has been meeting at its annual conference in Killarney over the past number of days. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality did not attend. However, the Commissioner did, and yesterday, when attending the conference, she approached the podium to speak and was met with what was described in the media as an eerie silence. This is no great surprise because morale within An Garda Síochána is at an all-time low. I know we have said that before here, but this time it is in a profound malaise. Its morale has been worn away by a crisis of leadership and the rank-and-file gardaí feel abandoned and disheartened. For them, it must feel like being in a rudderless ship.

It did not help the morale of gardaí either that the Commissioner has felt the need to place the blame for many of the recent debacles that have happened on her watch on the shoulders of more junior officers. This is a case of sloping shoulders on the part of the Commissioner at a time when real leadership should be shown and when responsibility as a leader should be taken for the litany of scandals which have beset the Garda.

Now, shockingly, we hear today, in addition to the falsification of breath tests, that an examination is being carried out into Garda figures relating to homicide and incidents of domestic violence. Where will all of this end? Yet Nóirín O'Sullivan just passes the buck, as does the Tánaiste. It is this lack of accountability and the deep-rooted arrogance of the upper echelons of the Garda that have shattered public confidence in policing and made policing almost toxic in the eyes of many.

It is clear that the administration of policing and justice in this State stands at a crossroads. Decisions taken now will shape our citizens' relationship with An Garda Síochána for generations to come. Nóirín O'Sullivan has been given effective immunity by the Government and its flip-flopping partners in Fianna Fáil. As desirable as an inquiry or review may be, the reality is that no inquiry or review of An Garda Síochána will achieve the required outcome while Nóirín O'Sullivan remains in office. That is a fact. The dysfunctionality at the heart of the management of An Garda Síochána cannot be tackled effectively and we cannot even hope to begin the work of restoring public confidence in the Garda while Nóirín O'Sullivan remains as boss. I say that not as a personal invective against the Commissioner personally, but to her and about her in respect of the position she holds. It very clear to us that it is in the best interests of An Garda Síochána, and the future standard of policing and justice in this State that Nóirín O'Sullivan is removed from office.

The malpractice and arrogance that has so dominated the leadership of An Garda Síochána must be replaced with transparency, accountability and a renewed commitment to the ethos of public service. The Minister has no hope or prospect of reforming, transforming or changing the culture and practices of An Garda Síochána if the person at the top is not held to a standard of accountability, yet that is the position in which the Minister has placed the Government and more importantly the people of this State. Nóirín O'Sullivan remaining as Garda Commissioner presents a significant and possibly insurmountable barrier to achieving the goals the Minister outlined of reform and change. The simple fact is that we bring this motion because we believe it to be in the best interests of An Garda Síochána that there is change and accountability at the very top. As has been said previously by the dogs on the street, Nóirín O'Sullivan must be relieved from her duties as Commissioner in the best interests of the Garda.

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