Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

I am very pleased the House has decided to set aside time to debate the third interim report of the disclosures tribunal. I must add, however, that it seems to be a very quiet House compared with the frenzied atmosphere there was around the setting up of the tribunal and associated events last year. Having read the report in some detail, there is no doubt it is comprehensive and merits careful and close reading.

It is very clear what the report's main findings are and what Mr. Justice Charleton considers should be foremost in our minds in formulating a response to it. The principal finding relates to the treatment of Sergeant Maurice McCabe. The tribunal has set out in a clear and stark way the ordeal which was endured by Sergeant McCabe and his family. Many aspects of the report make for very disturbing reading. What shines through at all times in this report is the courage and incredible resilience of Maurice McCabe and his family.

As I told the House this morning, since the report was published I have spoken with Sergeant McCabe on the telephone and, on behalf of the State, I apologised to him and his family for the manner in which he was treated over a prolonged period of time. He was extremely gracious and accepted that apology in the spirit in which it was offered. I intend to meet Sergeant McCabe in person in the corning weeks and I look forward to those discussions. I know the entire House joins with me in wishing him and his family well. My sincere hope is that he, his wife, Lorraine, and their family can now put this horrendous and prolonged ordeal behind them and get on with their lives.

There is no doubt in my mind that Maurice McCabe has done the State some considerable service. While this module of the tribunal addressed Sergeant McCabe's situation, the report shines a light on many issues and events, and contains many important lessons for all of us.

I propose to look at the report's main findings and then outline the way forward as I see it. First, I should once again express my thanks and appreciation to Mr. Justice Charleton for the efficient and effective manner in which he conducted the business of the tribunal and the clarity of his report and the conclusions thereto.

I also offer my thanks to Mr. Justice Sean Ryan, the former President of the Court of Appeal, who will take over the work of the tribunal in relation to the matters covered by the remaining paragraph [p] of its terms of reference. That paragraph covers any garda who made protected disclosures and who alleged that he or she was subsequently targeted or discredited as a result.

I will briefly refer to the background to the matters before the tribunal. The tribunal arose essentially out of two protected disclosures made by Superintendent David Taylor and Sergeant Maurice McCabe to my predecessor as Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, in the autumn of 2016. Those protected disclosures alleged that a campaign was being run by senior gardaí to discredit Sergeant Maurice McCabe. Members of the House are sufficiently aware of the details, so let me just say in general terms what these were. The primary allegations which gave rise to the tribunal related to the alleged use of an entirely false allegation of serious criminal misconduct by Sergeant McCabe and the involvement of Tusla in this regard; allegations that the then Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O'Sullivan, sought to use these allegations to discredit Sergeant McCabe at the O'Higgins commission of investigation; and allegations that senior members of the service acted in a manner intended to discredit or traduce Sergeant Maurice McCabe.

I have already said that the report and its findings need to be read carefully but its primary conclusions are very clear. The report is emphatic in its vindication of Sergeant Maurice McCabe. It states that he is a genuine person who was concerned to maintain standards and that he has done the State considerable service by bringing failures within An Garda Síochána to the attention of the wider public. Sergeant Maurice McCabe deserves the gratitude of all of us for bringing serious shortcomings to public attention. As I said, I have spoken with Sergeant McCabe and I will meet him shortly.

The report finds that an error made in preparing a report on allegations against Sergeant McCabe was allowed to remain uncorrected. This was a Tusla issue and will be addressed later in the debate by my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone. No one before the O'Higgins commission of investigation ever accused Sergeant McCabe of any crime, hinted at it or engaged in any innuendo about it. The tribunal found that both former Commissioner Martin Callinan and Superintendent David Taylor had not been truthful in the matter of their evidence. The tribunal accepts the evidence of my predecessor, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, that she decided not to interfere following the email of 15 May 2015 informing her that an issue had arisen at the commission of investigation. The report emphasises that her response was a considered one.

On a personal basis, I would like to say that Deputy Frances Fitzgerald is a loss to the Cabinet and I do not believe her resignation served any public interest, though it may have served the political interests of some people and parties in this House. I hope to see the Deputy returned to high office in the near future.

Returning to the tribunal’s central findings, it accepted that the former Minister did not speak with the former Commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan. It finds that in fact no situation requiring intervention by then Minister occurred before the O'Higgins commission. A particular allegation was made about my Department's involvement with those transcripts but the report states clearly that the transcripts provided to the tribunal from the O'Higgins commission of investigation are and always were complete despite unfounded media speculation to the contrary.

I would like to mention former Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan. The former Commissioner was the subject of a concerted campaign to undermine her position over a period of time, from the leaking of partial and misleading transcripts from the O'Higgins commission right up to the making of the two protected disclosures and even following the setting up of the tribunal.

While I accept that the Oireachtas has a vital role to play in ensuring accountability, it is incumbent on all of us, as elected representatives, not to abuse the responsible positions we hold. What we expect of others, we should also expect of ourselves. During her tenure as Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan was frequently before Oireachtas committees. She was frequently subjected to questions that sometimes crossed the line that divides robust inquiry from personalised attack. I ask Members who were party to that process to reflect carefully on their behaviour at that time.

In the end, it is clear these allegations, which have been found by the tribunal to be unsupported by evidence, became more than anyone could reasonably bear, particularly in an extremely pressurised, responsible and visible job, which is that of the Garda Commissioner. The tribunal did not find any evidence that the former Commissioner was party to the calumny visited upon Sergeant McCabe or any wrongdoing on her part in relation to Superintendent Taylor. It is important, in all the circumstances, that these findings are recorded in the House. As I did on the occasion of her retirement, I thank former Commissioner O'Sullivan for her service and wish her well in her future endeavours.

Moreover, while some members of An Garda Síochána are revealed by the tribunal to have behaved reprehensively, Mr. Justice Charleton also highlights the diligent arid professional approach taken by many members of the organisation. As Minister for Justice and Equality, this gives me grounds for optimism for the future.

Mr. Justice Charleton raises the fact that this House did not debate his second report dealing with terms of reference (n) and (o) regarding complaints made by Garda Keith Harrison. Deputies will acknowledge that there can be a level of furore in this House in relation to a matter giving rise to a tribunal that is seldom matched by in-depth analysis on publication of the report, particularly if it makes for uncomfortable reading for Members of the House. Hence, the fact that there is a mere handful of Deputies here for the start of this debate. We should not shy away from self-reflection as a Parliament if we are to maintain a healthy democracy.

Garda Harrison and his partner, Marisa Simms, alleged that the Garda Síochána at the highest level had prevailed on the HSE to intervene in their family affairs as a consequence of the making of protected disclosures by Garda Harrison. Members will recall the media coverage of these allegations which, put together with Sergeant McCabe's experiences with Tusla, opened the appalling vista of the Garda Síochána colluding with the social services to target members who raised certain issues.

Mr Justice Charleton fully investigated Garda Harrison's allegations. He finds: "All of the allegations of Garda Keith Harrison and Marisa Simms examined by the tribunal are entirely without any validity." Mr. Justice Charteton goes on to say: "It is appropriate here to exonerate everyone in social services and in policing accused by them of discreditable conduct." His words require no further elucidation on my part. Again, I invite Members of the House who engaged in questioning on this issue to reflect on their statements and allegations.

Let me turn to the future. I very much welcome the Garda Commissioner's initial response to the report last week. I will discuss matters raised in detail with Commissioner Harris, assuring him of my support as he addresses the findings in the report. It is clear there are consequences to be dealt with for individuals and much of that will fall to the Garda Commissioner. It would not be helpful for me to comment directly on these matters in the course of this debate. This House must leave any due process that arises to take its course in respect of serving employees. I assure Deputies that any action required by me or my Department will be followed up speedily and thoroughly. I will engage directly with the Commissioner in the coming days.

Mr. Justice Charleton also refers to protected disclosures and how they were used in the lead-up to the establishment of the tribunal. I note that he questions, in particular, if there is a lacuna in the system whereby protected disclosures, which were properly made in accordance with the 2014 Act, are then made available to Members of the Oireachtas and the media where the subjects of the allegations have little or no opportunity to respond.

This has created a situation where those accused are practically considered guilty until proven innocent. It is an abuse of an Act introduced to protect genuine whistleblowers reporting what they reasonably believed to be genuine wrongs. This merits consideration and I will raise this with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, whose Department has carriage of this legislation.

Mr. Justice Charleton is right when he says that new structures will not of themselves create the culture that would avoid the repetition of bad practice that has been highlighted now in a number of reports on the Garda Síochána. This requires significant cultural change, embedding consistent good practices and conscientious supervision by those in management ranks. An Garda Síochána commissioned an independent organisation culture audit earlier this year for which the auditors spoke to many rank and file gardaí. The report also highlights many of the issues addressed by the tribunal’s report.

I strongly recommend that anyone with an interest in policing reads the Independent Policing Commission's report from cover to cover. I am engaged in a consultation process with the Departments and agencies on which the report has had an impact, and I will be returning to Government with a high-level implementation plan in December of this year. The report specifically recommends new oversight architecture for policing that defines and separates responsibility for governance, oversight and accountability. It also addresses the critical issue of discipline in An Garda Síochána and, similar to Mr Justice Charleton, recommends a new disciplinary regime. GSOC would be replaced by a new complaints body that would handle all complaints against An Garda Síochána that raise serious issues about standards of policing or police integrity itself, such as potential breaches of the law, violation of human rights or corruption, or issues that might indicate a widespread or systemic problem within the police. The implementation plan for the commission's report will take full account of the issues

I will now return to where I began. Sergeant Maurice McCabe has done the State a huge service and Mr. Justice Charleton has done likewise, but their service will be for nothing if we do not respond appropriately. I was greatly taken by the set of obligations on gardaí set out towards the end of the tribunal report. Gardaí are urged to take pride in their work and their uniform, always be honest, visible and polite, to serve the people, to treat their obligation to the public as superior to any false sense that gardaí should stick up for each other and, finally, to engage in self-analysis. These are simple values based on doing the right thing, but they are fundamental. These are the standards that we should all observe, as public servants, as members of this House and as human beings. They are certainly what the public has a right to expect of An Garda Síochána.

Clearly, there are lessons here for An Garda Síochána, my Department, all public bodies, the Government, the Oireachtas and, not least, the media. A central tenet for all of us is that we must learn how effectively to face up to and determine the truth of allegations while not making the mistake of treating these as facts in all circumstances. Unfortunately, that was done on more than one occasion in this House over the past 12 months. Above all, we as a society must respond appropriately to those who speak up to highlight a wrong. For my part, I am determined that these lessons will be learned and applied.

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