Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to be able to say a few words this evening. I thank Mr. Justice Charleton for his arduous and diligent work on behalf of all of us in the State.

The findings of the report issued by Mr. Justice Charleton last week truly bring us back to GUBU territory. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle might remember that. He was around this House and I was an active member of Fianna Fáil at the time. The findings truly are grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented. The most senior garda in the State, someone with access to the most sensitive information possible, was found to have conducted a campaign of terror against an innocent member of the rank and file, Sergeant Maurice McCabe. We have to have sympathy and respect for Sergeant McCabe's family. This went beyond what we might call the usual spectacle of organisational incompetence or mismanagement. It was personal and vicious. The report highlights that beneath the seemingly respectable façade of so much of our society, particularly at the higher levels, there is a nauseating level of disregard for the interests of the ordinary person.

Institutions and organisations such as the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, were found to be operating with staggering levels of incompetence, despite being tasked with making decisions on a daily basis that affected families at the most intimate and long-lasting level.

We seem to go through this sorry charade every few months. We come here on the back of yet another damning report and pour out our scorn and anger. We make solemn promises that nothing like this will be repeated and that safeguards are being put in place, yet time and again we end up right back where we started. It is shocking. This is yet another scandal and betrayal by those in power and still nothing changes.

I want to read a particular quote:

Corruption can occur in many guises: here it was the abuse of police investigation ... Equally, other forms of corruption, such as looking the other way, bribery, the taking of short cuts in investigations, the construction of cases based upon lies and many other examples can occur at any time. What is most serious about the situation ... is the lack of leadership shown by officers at senior level whereby obvious questions were not asked. In the result, a growing situation of deceit was allowed to blossom to its fullest extent when the application of discipline and the energetic pursuit of proper standards would have snuffed out that growth at an early stage.

That is a direct quote from the Morris tribunal report of 2002. Sixteen years later we are right back at that place where, as I quoted, a growing situation of deceit was allowed to blossom to its fullest extent when the application of discipline and the energetic pursuit of proper standards would have snuffed out that growth at an early stage. That is the sad part about it and 16 years later we have a sense of déjà vu.

That is to say nothing about Tusla. I have considerable experience of this organisation with respect to grandparents and fostering, even though I accept that the Minister did address the issue in a very co-operative manner. However, the organisation is not and has not been fit for purpose. A huge section of it was hived off from the HSE and allowed to do what it liked with whom it liked. Obviously, there are many good people in it who are called in to deal with many challenging cases of children in awful circumstances. That is why they need to be more diligent and cautious. While I am not naming and blaming anyone, it is dreadful that a junior official was so inexperienced or ill-judged as to just copy and paste a most disgusting, awful, false allegation and give it legs and put it out as a vicious and pernicious rumour. It was then compounded by those at a senior level not taking corrective actions.

We have to salute Mr. Justice Charleton and Mr. Justice Morris, but what are we learning from this? I note that the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, has left the Chamber. I, for one, never called for the resignation of the previous Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald. I always thought she was being harshly treated and I am delighted that she was vindicated. I told her so privately and personally at the time. She went through hell, as did her family, supporters and friends, perhaps all in the pursuit of headlines, but it was very unfair. We are all entitled to our good name, including Sergeant Maurice McCabe. One only has it once and if it is denigrated, attacked and challenged, it is a smear.

There are many situations throughout the country. I can speak about a situation in Dungarvan, County Waterford involving Anne Marie O'Brien who has visited Leinster House. She recently wrote to many Deputies to try to get justice or answers about what happened to her brother and Mr. Patrick Esmond who went fishing off Helvick Head ten years ago. Their little dinghy was turned upside down and both lives were lost. There was no meaningful investigation carried out by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, no proper Garda investigation and, above all, there have been no answers to this day. There have been other cases, including in County Donegal and the case of Fr. Malloy in County Offaly. There are many cover-ups; it is disgusting.

I will not go into detail, but I was dragged into a court case and subject to shabby treatment at Dungarvan Garda station. Half of the evidence and statements were not sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, only the ones that were used to try to incriminate me. Several more that supported my view were never sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and there were no answers and no redress. It cost me a fortune in time, energy and money. There was an attempt to denigrate me and keep me out of this House in 2007. It was orchestrated and the worst type of politics. That is why I supported the Bill which was championed by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, to change the Judiciary and which included the provision of refresher courses for judges.

I always say we need to support An Garda Síochána. At all times 99.9% of the men and women on the beat do their best. However, we must weed out any distasteful behaviour. Unfortunately, it seems to come from the top down. Superintendent Taylor is a constituent of mine. He comes from a decent family in Cashel, County Tipperary and I believe he is the fall guy. It is a case of break your boss before you break his orders. I believe he was doing his duty. While he erred grievously and was foolish in the extreme, he has to continue with life. I believe he is the fall guy for many more senior officers. That is what goes on. Something that starts with the letter "S" only flows one way and it is down, not up. We need to support the men and women of An Garda Síochána and give them the proper tools of the trade. We need to support the good gardaí - sergeants, inspectors, detectives, the people who go undercover to try to deal with drugs and everything else, up along to superintendents. However, we need to stop the cavalier expectation and self-serving ideas to try to get to the top in a hurry as it always leads to damage and loss of reputation. From here they will have to pick up the pieces.

I wish the new Garda Commissioner well. He has some baggage judging from comments he made about previous investigations when two very serious people in Northern Ireland lost their lives across the Border. I believe he must be supported, but he did not make a good start. One of the first big statements he came out with was related to the curtailment of overtime. It will have a massive impact in County Tipperary, further demoralising an already demoralised force. It needs to have the tools of the trade and the support of senior officials.

I will allow Deputy Michael Healy-Rae to take the remaining time.

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