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

I agree with the point that the Deputy makes regarding the work of the members of An Garda Síochána day in, day out throughout the country tackling crime. We should do everything in this House to support the work they do, which is extremely challenging at this time. We should do everything possible to restore morale in An Garda Síochána. That has been my goal and aim since I became Minister for Justice and Equality. Every action I have taken has been to support the reform that is necessary and to support the work of An Garda Síochána. It had been starved completely of resources due to the lack of investment, the closure of Templemore and the lack of investment in the fleet and so on. This is what I inherited from the Government previous to the last. That was the situation I had to deal with. That is the reality of the situation An Garda Síochána was faced with when the Deputy's Government went out of power.

I would not want to underestimate in any way the seriousness of the finding of the interim internal audit report on the finances of the Garda College in Templemore. While it is an interim report, it paints a disturbing picture of the manner in which the college's finances were run, including the existence of a large number of bank accounts and investment accounts linked to the college, staffing issues and issues relating to the ownership and non-use of certain lands. In short, it found that the financial controls in place could not be stood over. While the report did not identify misappropriation as such, the question of whether any criminality might be involved is now being examined, and has to be examined, separately by an assistant commissioner of An Garda Síochána.

As the House will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is the Accounting Officer for An Garda Síochána. As such, she is liable to account to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Garda Vote. The Committee of Public Accounts plays a vital role in ensuring there is proper accountability with regard to public moneys. It is quite clear that the committee is determined to protect the interests of the taxpayers and to examine fully the facts behind what happened at the college. I am aware from its meeting this morning - I saw some of it - that the committee is determined to proceed with this examination. It spent a lot of time discussing precisely how it should proceed, the documentation that is needed and the ambit of its discussions. Many members of the committee emphasised the need for fair procedures to be followed. This should be borne in mind by all Members of the House. Very particular responsibilities lie with Accounting Officers, and the House will appreciate that I must be careful not to interfere in any way with the work of the committee. I can tell the House, however, that I will pay careful attention to the proceedings of the committee and, in particular, any report it may make. If action is required on my part as a result, I will not hesitate to take it.

As I stated yesterday, I cannot have a running commentary on these proceedings. There is a danger. Some people want the examination of these issues to proceed but to reach conclusions before it has been concluded. Some people want to reach verdicts before all the evidence has been heard.

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