Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann:" and substitute the following:

“notes that the Interim Report from the Garda Commissioner to the Policing Authority on the handling of youth crime cases during the period 25th July, 2010 to 28th July, 2017 has identified serious failings within An Garda Síochána, including failure to process the prosecution of almost 8,000 youth crimes and that:

- many of the young offenders who were not progressed continued to commit crime, and some went on to commit serious crimes;

- these included 55 serious offences including rape, sexual assault and child neglect;

- 57 of the child offenders since died, and that many of them lived chaotic lives

- most offences identified as not being acted upon are now time-barred on grounds of delay, and others may be contaminated by the poor process to date;

- the Garda Commissioner has described the failure to prosecute these youth offenders as a 'humiliating professional failure' for the force;

- the Policing Authority said that 'when there are no consequences for children who are unsuitable for the programme opportunities to help those children are missed. Children are failed and victims of crime are failed.';

- there are implications for the quality of Garda case management and data systems and that there are other concerns regarding Garda statistics; and

- this, and previous reports referring systemic and cultural issues within An Garda Síochána have serious implications for public confidence in the force;

acknowledges that:

- successive reports have recommended better interagency working, including between An Garda Síochána and Tusla, to address the complex socio-economic issues (including increased illegal drug use) that often underlie the involvement of children in crime;

- youth diversion programmes are proven to be very successful in reducing reoffending;

- the State has a responsibility to try to divert children from a path of crime and the existing legislative framework for these actions is provided in Part IV of the Children Act 2001 (as amended);

- lessons must be learned and strong strategic measures put in place to prevent further lack of follow-up on juvenile cases and to improve the response of An Garda Síochána and all relevant Departments and agencies to youth crime, and the factors which give rise to it; and

- the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI) provides a clear vision for a modern, highly professional, human-rights-based police service, focusing on a Garda organisation which works closely and collaboratively with communities and other agencies to keep communities safe and to prevent harm to vulnerable people; and supports:

- the Government’s commitment to the four-year implementation plan, ‘A Policing Service for the Future’, to give effect to the report of the CoFPI, which will address many of the issues highlighted in relation to youth crime, including improvements to systems, training, supervision, accountability and interagency working;

- the strong endorsement by the Chair of the Policing Authority and the Garda Commissioner of the work of the Juvenile Diversion Programme;

- the continuing work of the Garda authorities to clarify all aspects of the issues relating to youth crime and take necessary actions to prevent recurrence;

- the sincere apology issued by the Garda Commissioner and the steps being taken by An Garda Síochána to inform victims as well as the young offenders whose behaviour went unchallenged;

- the clear statement by the Garda Commissioner that all potential failings by individual Gardaí will be investigated and assessed with respect to any relevant disciplinary action;

- the rigorous examination of these matters by the Policing Authority and their ongoing work, in accordance with their statutory remit, to achieve a full explanation of what happened, assurance that comprehensive remedial actions are taken and bring all appropriate information into the public domain;

- the Government’s commitment to funding and enhancing, as far as possible, the operation of Garda Youth Diversion Projects, including training and best practice support for Youth Justice Workers, in consultation with the community and expert stakeholders, to provide services which address the needs and circumstances of children in all parts of the country; and

- the Government’s initiative to develop a new Youth Justice Strategy, assisted by an expert Steering Group, to provide a framework for policy development including consideration of legislation, arrangements to promote interagency working and oversight of policy implementation, and the implications for the most effective alignment of Ministerial and State agency responsibilities.”

I am making this opening statement on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, who will make his remarks in his reply to the debate. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, is glad to have the opportunity to engage with Deputies, as he shares many of the concerns outlined in the motion. However, there are concerns about some elements of the motion and the Government is proposing an amendment. The revised text highlights strategic actions that are already in train which address many of the concerns raised in the motion. There are also some aspects of the motion where the proposed actions would be most unwise or where the wording of the it needs tightening up.

That being said, all of us in this House can agree that we are seriously concerned about the issues outlined by the Garda Commissioner regarding the handling of youth crime cases which were deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the juvenile diversion system. The Commissioner provided an interim report to the Policing Authority of a review of youth crime cases from 2010 to 2017. There is more work to be done to complete this review, so we do not have the final picture at this stage. However, it seems there were in the region of 160,000 youth crime cases in that period. Roughly one third of them were deemed unsuitable for the Garda diversion programme. Of those incidents deemed unsuitable, there appears to have been a failure to carry out a prosecution of almost 8,000 youth crime cases. It is completely unacceptable that failures in Garda systems, or by individual gardaí, would lead to a situation where crimes are not properly pursued. On that I have no doubt we are all in agreement.

The Government also agrees that action must be taken to address this situation thoroughly. This must be done not just in the interest of victims and the proper administration of justice, but also for the future welfare of the children and young people who become involved in crime.

However, the motion does not take account of the fact that most of the issues which it highlights are already being addressed in a focused and strategic manner through the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission for the Future of Policing in Ireland, which the Government has endorsed. We should bear in mind that the issues under discussion cover a seven-year period starting in 2010 and that enhancements to PULSE, commencing during 2015, have led to significant improvements in case management in the last few years. This was clearly set out in the Garda Commissioner’s presentation to the Policing Authority.

Fundamental issues identified in the Commissioner’s interim report include inadequate ICT, poor supervision, lack of training and possible individual failings. All Deputies will recall that similar concerns were highlighted in other Garda related reports and that the recommendations of the Commission on Future of Policing are aimed at addressing systematically the failings that have been identified. Having published a four-year implementation plan in December, we as a Government are now setting about putting those recommendations into effect. This is a key strategy to achieve lasting structural, administrative and cultural reform within An Garda Síochána. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, will discuss this in more detail in his reply to the debate.

The amendment underlines the importance of the Commission’s report and it also amends some of the details contained in the motion which was proposed. These include a call for a review to determine whether disciplinary action should be taken. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, agrees that it is very worrying that so many individual gardaí appear to have been at fault over the seven-year period. However, all Deputies will be aware that disciplinary issues within An Garda Síochána are a matter for the Commissioner and he has very clearly outlined the process that is being put in train to address this. Chief superintendents have been mandated by the Commissioner to assess if disciplinary action should be taken in each case. The Commissioner has also undertaken to update the Policing Authority on the outcome of this process. Understandably, the Commissioner has been reluctant to give any more details in relation to disciplinary measures so as not to do anything that might be seen to prejudice such actions. Clearly, such procedures must be allowed to take their course.

The motion contains a call for reporting to the Oireachtas on Garda oversight of youth crime. This would have the effect of subverting the statutory remit of the Policing Authority which operates according to legislation enacted by the Houses of the Oireachtas. It would also involve the Houses of the Oireachtas in direct monitoring of functions of An Garda Síochána. This would be entirely inappropriate and Deputies will be aware that the Commissioner is already subject to examination by Oireachtas committees.

The motion incorrectly attributes the serious failures to prosecute crimes as failures of the Garda diversion programme. The Garda failures in youth crime cases were related to cases deemed unsuitable for diversion and which were dealt with outside of the diversion programme. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, feels that the motion’s confusion of the diversion programme and Garda failures to prosecute could be construed as criticism of the very valuable work An Garda Síochána's juvenile liaison officers do and the community based Garda youth diversion projects. This would be most unfortunate. Over many years the diversion programme has helped thousands of young offenders turn away from crime and anti-social behaviour, and the Government greatly values this work, as I am sure all Members of the House do. Both the chair of the

Policing Authority and the Commissioner were very careful to acknowledge the value of the diversion programme and it is essential that the Dáil Éireann does so as well. Our amendment is framed accordingly.

The sustained focus which the Policing Authority is giving to this matter is very important to help us all understand what happened, why it happened and what is being done to fix it. The authority conducted a very rigorous public examination of the issue on 17 January and has made it clear that it will continue to probe the detail of what has happened, what is being done to rectify it and the implications for Garda crime management generally.

The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, believes that continuing engagement and monitoring by the Policing Authority is the best way for us all to verify that the errors made in the past will not be repeated. However, it will take some time before the full examination and verification of these matters is fully completed.

The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, shares the concerns expressed in the motion in relation to the 3,500 victims of the crimes in these cases. These included 2,500 individuals and 1,000 businesses or organisations. We have to accept that justice was not done in any of these cases. Clearly, people have been let down and have not received the support that should have been given to them by agents of the State. It was right and fitting that the Commissioner made a very full and sincere apology to the victims of these crimes when he addressed the Policing Authority.

An Garda Síochána has taken a number of steps to help the victims of these crimes. The first of these is a helpline which has been set up as a contact point for victims should they need support. Details of the helpline are available on the Garda website. An Garda Síochána has also issued letters to each of the victims. In some cases these letters have been hand delivered by members of the force, depending on the circumstances of the case. In addition to this, each of the victims can request a visit from a local Garda team from the Garda Victim Services Office to provide further information on their individual cases.

Another disturbing issue is the fact that most of the cases which went unprocessed will be statute barred due to the time delay. However, senior Garda managers are looking at the more recent individual cases to determine whether any further action can be taken. The Commissioner has also indicated that relevant discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions will take place as may be necessary and appropriate.

Despite some differences in the approach and some issues with the detail of the motion which has been proposed, there is substantial common ground among all Deputies in the House regarding to this matter. We all want a full explanation of why these very serious issues have arisen. We all want to see effective and reliable systems in place within An Garda Síochána. We all want the victims of crime to see justice done. We all want those children and young people who become involved in crime to have their behaviour challenged. I am sure we are also in agreement that those young people are also worthy of our best efforts to support them in finding a more positive path in their lives.

We look forward to having a positive debate in the House and very much value the input all Deputies make to the ongoing development of our youth justice policies. We are opposing the motion and have moved a Government amendment. Deputies will note we are proposing to keep as much of the spirit and language of the original motion as possible and I hope the House will be able to unite around the revised text that we are proposing.

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