Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an rún seo agus ní bheimid ina choinne. I wish the new appointees well. As the Minister of State said, they have considerable skills and experience and I have no doubt that they will be an addition to the board.

The importance of the role of any Garda oversight body cannot be overstated, especially in light of recent events such as the death of George Nkencho in Clonee. It is important that public faith in An Garda Síochána is preserved and upheld. Accountability on the part of our police service is a cornerstone of this. The importance of the independence of GSOC cannot be overstated. It must be independent and it must be seen to be independent.

The programme for Government contains a welcome commitment in respect of the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. That report identifies a number of issues with the current arrangements relating to accountability of An Garda Síochána. Recently, I spoke to a former employee of GSOC who identified problems very similar to those outlined in the report. I want to speak on a number of issues which continue to challenge the efficacy of GSOC and which hamper overall efforts to maintain a good reputation for An Garda Síochána. The report and the person to whom I spoke both raise concerns about a lack of resources, a duplication of roles and responsibility in GSOC and the Garda Inspectorate, the training of investigators - in that only a few investigators are actually accredited - and the powers of GSOC being insufficient to cover the necessary investigative work. All of this means that many investigations are outsourced back to An Garda Síochána through what is known as the gearán system. Of course, these members do their utmost but there will always be issues when they investigating their colleagues. Justice has to be done and it has to be seen to be done. I have heard about low morale among staff and I am told many have left. Even where cases are managed by GSOC, many investigators, former male and female officers with An Garda Síochána and police services abroad, will naturally see things from the perspective of a police officer. Many investigators are trained in Templemore, alongside the gardaí they will be investigating.

I note from some media reports that a new office of the ombudsman for police conduct will be established by legislation being drafted by the Department of Justice. I have tabled a parliamentary question asking about this process, which is mentioned in the report, and I look forward to seeing it. Any police oversight body must be independent of the State and the police force and should be answerable to the justice committee. We need a new model, appropriate training and critical care teams. The current model is borrowed from the UK, which is changing its system.

There is one recommendation in the commission's report that must be reflected in the forthcoming Bill, which is that the new body must be able to look into historical problems and complaints in An Garda Síochána, including retired investigating officers. The recent High Court declaration in favour of Joanne Hayes and her family, the woman at the centre of what was referred to, mistakenly I believe, as the Kerry babies case, was a stark reminder of the wrongs of the past. Joanne, her family and her lawyers have long maintained that the case should have been known as the "gardaí in Kerry case" or the "Kerry gardaí case". What people tend to forget is that the tribunal was established to discover how Joanne Hayes was charged with murder. An apology has been given by the State but an apology for what? What is the State apologising for? While the tribunal was allowed to be used as a forum for discussion of social mores in the 1980s, it never explained how four or five different members of the Hayes family, in different rooms of Tralee Garda station at around the same time, came up with practically the exact same statement, including in respect of things that were scientifically impossible. Some of the statements were preposterous and there is no other conclusion but that some of the statements were prepared by members of a police service that lacked accountability in the 1980s. The people in north Kerry supported the Hayes family and knew that the statements could only have been drafted by members of An Garda Síochána and that members of the family were coerced into signing them. This case had an enormous effect on trust in gardaí in Kerry. There was hardly a conviction in a contested jury trial for 15 years afterwards if there was an issue with Garda credibility. As I have said, some of the findings of the tribunal were preposterous and were seen as an attempt by the State to bury the truth, but the truth will out.

We cannot afford a repeat of cases like this, particularly in view of the consequences for the administration and trust in justice. The new body, the ombudsman for police conduct, is a step forward. It does not mention the name of An Garda Síochána. The recommendation that the word "independent" be included was not followed. If this is a portent that some investigations will continue to be outsourced it is not positive. The training of investigators in Templemore is not appropriate and cannot continue. Other issues that must be addressed in legislation are policy and resourcing. We have a chance now at this crossroads to have a system of police accountability that is the envy of the world and I hope the forthcoming Bill will be the start of building this system.

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