Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:“recognises that:

— the recent controversies surrounding An Garda Síochána are of the utmost seriousness and go to the heart of policing in the State;

— it is essential that the Government, this House and all our citizens can trust members of An Garda Síochána to carry out their duties fairly, impartially and in accordance with the law;

— while members of An Garda Síochána continue to perform very good work and put their lives at risk on a daily basis keeping communities safe and protecting the security of the State in the face of major challenges, including the threats from organised crime, subversion and international terrorism, deep-seated organisational problems which have not been properly addressed over a number of decades, such as those exemplified in the recent report by Mr. Justice Fennelly, must be urgently and fully addressed;

— in particular, there is understandable public concern arising from recent very serious issues about the administration by An Garda Síochána of mandatory alcohol testing and fixed charge notices;

— the most effective way of addressing issues of concern which have arisen is to ensure that the issues in relation to road traffic matters are comprehensively and independently assessed, a major programme of reform is completed as quickly as possible and there is a fundamental review of the future of policing in Ireland;

— the resolution of the serious issues facing An Garda Síochána cannot be achieved by measures which undermine the effectiveness of An Garda Síochána in protecting the community;

— robust and independent oversight of policing is essential to the delivery of policing service in the 21st century and that the Oireachtas enacted the Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act in 2015 and that the independent Policing Authority was established on 1st January, 2016;

— at the heart of the establishment of the Policing Authority was a desire, on the part of the Oireachtas, to remove politics from policing to the extent possible consistent with the Constitution of Ireland and that nothing said or done in this House should detract from the work of the Policing Authority, undermine its independence in doing that work or to politicise An Garda Síochána; and

— there is a legal framework of accountability in which public servants perform their duties and it would be a dangerous precedent for this House to target individual public servants, by way of resolution, in a departure from that framework;notes that:— the Policing Authority is chaired by the former Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners and that the other eight members of the Policing Authority were appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Public Appointments Service which had invited applications for membership of the Policing Authority;

— the nine members of the Policing Authority are persons who independently bring a range of valuable experience and expertise to bear on the work of the Policing Authority and that even though the Policing Authority has only been in existence for 15 months, it has in that time established itself as a robust and independent oversight body;

— the House should support the Policing Authority fully in its very important work; and

— the Policing Authority has specific statutory responsibilities, including in relation to the appointments to the higher ranks of An Garda Síochána and continuation of persons in office, the exercise of which must not be interfered with or improperly influenced in any way;supports:— the request made by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to the Policing Authority under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to report on recent road traffic issues and the fact that an investigation will be conducted by the Policing Authority with the assistance of external expertise which will examine all issues arising, addressing, to the greatest extent possible, the reasons why the issues have arisen, the incidence and scale of the issues and the solutions implemented to ensure there is no reoccurrence;

— the strengthening of Garda management capacity by the early appointment of three additional civilian leaders to the senior management team, Executive Director – Strategy and Transformation, Executive Director – Legal and Compliance and a Chief Information Officer;

— the completion as soon as possible by the Garda Inspectorate of an examination, at the request of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, of entry routes to An Garda Síochána from other police services and the opening up of promotion opportunities within An Garda Síochána to non-Garda personnel, whether policing professional or otherwise;

— the completion, under the oversight of the Policing Authority, of the urgent implementation of extensive reforms to the administration of, and operation of, An Garda Síochána under the Garda Síochána Modernisation and Renewal Programme, 2016-2021, incorporating recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate report ‘Changing Policing in Ireland’;

— the specific monitoring and assessing by the Policing Authority of the implementation of recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate report ‘Changing Policing in Ireland’, and the Policing Authority reporting to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality quarterly on this matter, who will publish these reports;

— the cultural audit of An Garda Síochána which will commence shortly;

— the provision of any additional resources to the Policing Authority which may be necessary to ensure it is able to carry out its work effectively, including a review of the legislation governing its operation which is due to be undertaken this year under the terms of the Garda Síochána Act 2005; and

— the intention to implement in full the recommendations made by Mr. Justice Fennelly in his recent report;agrees that, notwithstanding the significant programme of reform that is already underway and the central role of the Policing Authority in overseeing the implementation of that programme, the time is right to undertake a ‘root and branch’ review of all aspects of policing in Ireland; and

further notes that:— the Government agreed at its meeting on 11th April, 2017, to establish a Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and to circulate the draft terms of reference to other parties;

— the Commission’s draft terms of reference, while subject to further consultation, are intended to be comprehensive and provide for a thorough review of all aspects of policing including appropriate accountability mechanisms, with a view to resolving policing issues outside the realm of political controversy;

— the draft terms of reference will address:

— structures, leadership and management arrangements required for the most effective delivery of policing, including all functions currently carried out by An Garda Síochána – community safety, security and immigration;

— appropriate composition, recruitment and training of personnel;

— culture and ethos of policing;

— appropriate structures for oversight and accountability (including all oversight bodies, the Department of Justice and Equality and Government); and

— the legislative framework for policing;

— the draft terms of reference will take account of:

— existing and emerging issues identified as key challenges for Ireland’s model of policing;

— best practices in the policing models of other countries focused towards greater effectiveness and efficiency, and fostering public confidence in policing;

— previous reports concerning policing in Ireland; and

— any specific challenges to delivering consistent structural and cultural reform in policing;

— once this consultation process has been completed, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality will revert to Government with proposals for the establishment of the Commission and draft terms of reference; and

— the establishment of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland should not delay or detract from the implementation of the ambitious programme of reform underway which should continue unimpeded.”

As I said last night, we are at a crucial time in determining the future of policing in this country. There has been array of competing motions and counter-motions before the House, and what I am doing in the counter-motion is setting out a clear, coherent and comprehensive approach to the issues which I agree must be addressed.

Trust in An Garda Síochána has been damaged by the recent revelations. Yesterday, I said they are as unacceptable as they are disturbing and I repeat that here today. The great respect which we have for the work which members of An Garda Síochána do, as many Members have acknowledged, sometimes at great personal cost, cannot blind us to the need for profound and lasting change.

Before I turn to the question of reform, I wish to deal first with the substance of and the background to the Sinn Féin motion. While there are elements of the motion with which everyone in this House can agree, the central thesis must be rejected. Rather than focusing on the need to reform An Garda Síochána, it seeks to personalise the problems with the service by focusing on the Garda Commissioner. In a document published by Sinn Féin yesterday, entitled Restoring Public Confidence in Policing, the party made a number of proposals aimed at enhancing the functions and responsibilities of the Policing Authority, the first of which is the immediate commencement of the legislative provisions governing the removal of senior members of An Garda Síochána. I wish to put on record that, in fact, the entire Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 has been commenced. The provisions relating to the removal of the Commissioner and deputy commissioners were commenced on 1 January 2016 and those relating to the ranks of assistant commissioner, chief superintendent and superintendent on 1 January 2017.

In addition, since that date the Policing Authority has responsibility for running competitions for appointments to the senior Garda ranks of assistant Garda commissioner, chief superintendent and superintendent. As I outlined to Deputies previously, the very first appointment of an assistant commissioner under the new process was made by the authority last March. That is a sea change in terms of the appointments of gardaí in this country. The authority is now running a competition for chief superintendents. Many in this House called for independent appointments in the past. That means a statutory framework is now in place that allows both the Government and the Policing Authority, on its own initiative, to invoke the provisions of section 11 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. There is no role for this House in that statutory framework, nor in my view should there be. It is one thing for this House to debate motions of no confidence in persons who can defend themselves in this House, but it is another for it to insert itself into carefully calibrated legislation that is designed to observe due process and natural and constitutional justice, which is the right of any employee. It would be a major departure if individual public servants, nurses, gardaí or teachers were to have their reputations shredded in this House with no opportunity to put their side of the story. Deputy O'Callaghan referred to that in recent days. Such a procedure would not even meet the low standards of a kangaroo court.

Rather than focusing on what would clearly be a wrong path for this House to embark on, I wish to return to the issue of reform. Since my appointment as Minister for Justice and Equality, I have been pursuing an ambitious programme of Garda reform. It would be very foolish, in fact it would be tragic, to deviate from the path to reform that is already in place. Therefore, we must make sure existing plans for change are carried through fully. Crucial to those changes is the Garda Síochána Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021 which reflects the recommendations in the critical Garda Inspectorate report, Changing Policing in Ireland, to which so many Members in this House refer. It is necessary to implement what is in the report and the implementation process has begun. The Policing Authority oversees the implementation of the report. The authority has published reports on the process and it will continue to do so. A list of initiatives has already taken place and actions have been taken which arise directly from the Changing Policing in Ireland report. We cannot pretend that has not happened because it is happening. Initiatives, actions and recommendations have been carried out. One such change relates to ICT. A victims of crime office has been set up and a list of initiatives has been introduced. Change must keep happening. Once the recommendations in the report have been implemented, it is clear that other things will need to be done because reform can never stop.

The most difficult change to make relates to culture. An organisation that impulsively turned inwards must now instinctively face outwards with professionalism, high standards and honesty, and it must meet the highest ethical standards. Under the Policing Authority, for the first time in the history of An Garda Síochána an ethics code of practice was announced and delivered and people must adhere to it. It was drawn up between the Policing Authority and the Garda and published recently. It is clear that more openness and transparency are an essential part of the process. A tendering process has been completed for a cultural audit that will be conducted this year. The audit is being overseen by the Policing Authority, at my request, and it will set a benchmark against which the culture of the service will be measured over the years as the reform programme is implemented.

As Deputies have outlined, there have been many reports into various aspects of policing in Ireland. Some reports followed investigations into wrongdoing or bad practice, such as those of the Morris tribunal and the O'Higgins investigation, while others have been directed at reform, including in particular the 11 reports published by the Garda Inspectorate. All however, have been drafted within the confines of the structures of policing that have existed since the foundation of the State. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, addressed that thoroughly last night.

The policing landscape has seen many significant changes, first by the establishment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, and the Garda Inspectorate under the 2005 Act, and more recently by the establishment of the Policing Authority in January 2016. Those very important changes deal with the historic structures of policing in this country that remain to this day. The gravity and scope of recent events mean that we must now question whether those core structures are fit for purpose. It is for that reason the Government believes the time is ripe for a fundamental examination of all aspects of policing in Ireland.

As Deputies know, that was agreed by the Government yesterday, so I will not go into great detail because we have discussed it, the draft terms of reference have been provided and we have been doing further work on it. The terms of reference attempt to be comprehensive and provide for a thorough review of all aspects of policing, including the structure, leadership, - I agree that leadership matters - management, composition, recruitment and training. When I met the Deputies from the Opposition many of them spoke to me about training, the importance of examining the current training carefully and whether changes are necessary. I also wish to examine aspects of oversight and accountability, including examining the roles of the bodies I have mentioned as well as those of the Department of Justice and Equality and the Government. Among the questions we must examine is whether a unitary police service dealing with policing, security and immigration is the appropriate model for the 21st century.

The commission will have among its members people with international expertise and knowledge. It will be independent of the Government and will provide an opportunity for the country to have an honest discussion about how it is to be policed as it approaches the centenary of the establishment of An Garda Síochána. Throughout that time, the men and women of An Garda Síochána have kept us safe in the face of grave threats and dangers. They have played a crucial role in thwarting those, including the Provisional IRA, who wanted to overthrow this State. Some brave gardaí paid the ultimate price, and we must remember them. Today, in particular, I remember Detective Garda Jerry McCabe who was brutally and callously murdered when he was doing his duty.

An Garda Síochána faces many problems, but the solution does not lie in this politically motivated motion from Sinn Féin. A well-functioning police service, trusted by the people, is a cornerstone of any democracy worthy of the name. Some Members of this House were late converts to democracy, but I hope that even they would agree that, as the democratically elected representatives of the people, all of us must work to make An Garda Síochána succeed. We can pay no greater tribute to the men who founded our police force in the difficult early years of the State, and the men and women who followed in their footsteps through the decades, than to begin the second century of policing with a police service that embodies the best traditions of An Garda Síochána.

One of the greatest failings of the motion before the House is its lack of ambition. Rather than articulating a vision for the future of policing in Ireland, it resorts to the blame game. Personalising the issues and demonising individuals get us nowhere. This Government is ambitious for policing in Ireland. For that reason we reject this defeatist motion and commend to the House a counter-motion which sets out a clear and coherent way forward.

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