Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Nuair a chuaigh mé abhaile aréir bhí seans agam féachaint ar chlár ar TG4, an clár ar a dtugtar "Finné". Bhain an clár sin le cad a tharla d'Osgur Breatnach agus do dhaoine eile sna 1970í. Chuir an clár sin na rudaí a tharla in iúl dúinn, rudaí uafásacha, rudaí náireacha. Osgur Breatnach and others were accused and convicted for taking part in the Sallins train robbery. This was due to appalling, cruel and inhumane treatment by certain gardaí who became known as the heavy gang. This group took part in beatings, assaulted prisoners, questioned them throughout the night without any breaks and did not allow them access to lawyers. Prisoners were beaten so badly that afterwards they said they were prepared to sign anything for fear of the violence continuing. The court heard garda after garda saying that the men had beaten themselves up. The men were eventually freed.

Chuala mé ar an gclár sin mar gheall ar an rud a tharla ansin go raibh seans go dtarlódh sé arís. This is exactly what has happened in the years since. We remember the cases of Joanne Hayes, Peter Pringle, Frank McBrearty, Frank Shortt and others, and now the case of Maurice McCabe. The common denominator is the unjust, wrong, immoral and unethical behaviour by some in the Garda, and by some within the Garda who are leaders. We are aware of the saying, leading by example, but the kind of leadership that was implied in that was not what came from leadership in An Garda Síochána.

Apart from the victims of this injustice, I feel for the members of the Garda who have been doing their job in a conscientious, diligent and honest way in serving the public. In common with other Members, I know the gardaí in my constituency of Dublin Central, from the community gardaí to the chief superintendent. They do a very difficult and demanding job. Because of some issues that have arisen in the north inner city of Dublin, this work is sometimes done at risk to their own lives. They do the job well. No matter what branch of public service or what career or occupation one is in, there will always be people who are not suited to a job and there should be an exit strategy. There should be a strategy for helping them while in the job and, if necessary, an exit strategy. Recommendation No. 14 of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland report is a review of the current system of discipline and suggestions for guidance, advice or training. The Charleton report and the report on the future of policing in Ireland need to go together. I am struck by one section of the commission's report on learning and development strategy that refers to training - including continuous professional development - and in-service training for gardaí. I believe that this includes supports, be it training or counselling in the Garda, including the applied suicide intervention skills training, which should be mandatory if it is not already.

We have had a damning report from Mr. Justice Charleton. It is damning of Tusla, of the HSE, of journalists and of gardaí. It is like a report card that says there is much room for improvement from everybody. In all of that, lives were damaged. After a controversy we say it will never happen again and that we have learned lessons, but unfortunately we do not learn and the same continues. There is an opportunity now, with the two reports from Charleton and from the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, if the recommendations and points become a reality. If that happens the structures will be in place to prevent the same from happening again or if it does happen, there would be robust procedures to deal with it.

An initiative we have in the north inner city of Dublin has been ongoing for more than ten years. It came out of the prevalent heroin issue at the time 12 or 13 years ago and is called the community policing forum, CPF. The staff work with residents, the local authority Dublin City Council, DCC, and with the Garda. Meetings held are open to the public where DCC and gardaí - including some quite senior ranking gardaí such as the chief superintendent - take questions and criticism from the public. This can also happen privately, but these forums are a form of accountability and transparency that could be replicated. The policing commission is very supportive of that model. I believe it is the kind of model that can prevent some of the types of cases in the State that we are aware of, where there are questions around the lack of thorough investigations, or where there are no investigations at all.

The seven obligations, as outlined by Mr. Justice Charleton, are the way forward. The first obligation is for gardaí "to take pride in their work and in their uniform." We know that Garda pride has taken a battering. The obligations include the principle of honesty and the need for visibility. This is very much appreciated by communities because they want to see gardaí on the streets and they want to know them. In Dublin inner city we had the small area policing initiative, which is the essence of what is contained in the Charleton report. It is a model of partnership, social responsibility, continuous learning, innovation and improvement. It tried to highlight the values of honesty, accountability, respect and professionalism. If that model had been used in all Garda divisions we may not have been having this debate today.

Other principles from the Charleton report were about politeness, diligence to service and an obligation to the public, instead of what happens such as circling of the wagons and defending the indefensible.

With all of this going on I was struck by a play that I always enjoyed teaching; The Crucibleby Arthur Miller - and by John Proctor's line, "How may I live without my name?" In the cases we referred to earlier people's good names were taken because of the rush to judgment instead of looking at all of the facts and waiting until everything was known.

We need those proper structures in place and this is the opportunity to do so now. The other aspect that has come out, which is very valuable, is that good names have been restored to those who lost them.

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