Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak briefly on this matter. The vast bulk of members of An Garda Síochána, whom we are very fortunate to have, have been the line of defence of our State over several turbulent decades, but there have been several issues. There will always be issues that require an investigation independent of the police because society and the Oireachtas provide extraordinary powers to those we make guardians of the peace. We give powers to arrest, detain, prosecute and so on. We must have proper oversight of these.

Issues have arisen over the decades. Since the Morris tribunal, I have been advocating the examination of international best practice to ascertain how we can deal with the oversight of An Garda Síochána to reassure Members and the public that everything is being done properly and appropriately. I argued for a very long time about the model we should have. The model existed in Northern Ireland with the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. I had long discussions with former ombudsman Nuala O'Loan, who came to Dublin and spoke to a variety of groups here about her experiences in Northern Ireland. The Irish Government, after a lot of urging, decided to have a commission rather than an arrangement modelled on that in Northern Ireland. We are going to adjust that now in the new legislation that is coming before us. We are going to have an ombudsman and a deputy ombudsman. We will debate this in due course. It is a big advance.

We can genuinely say, for a variety of reasons, that our experience with GSOC has not been uniformly what we expected or desired. GSOC itself will state many of the reasons for that. I hope that, in the new legislation to be enacted, we can address those. I very much welcome the specifics of what is included in the forthcoming policing, security and community safety Bill, the general scheme of which was published in April of this year, to expand the remit of the Garda ombudsman to cover allegations that come to light other than by way of complaint from the public. In this regard, I am referring to its investigation procedure and the need to support the really important, timely and effective resolution of complaints. To put it bluntly, complaints have not been resolved in this way. I felt that, once GSOC was in place, we had a robust body to address the kinds of complaints we got over the years regarding the activities of An Garda Síochána. However, there is an old adage that justice delayed is justice denied. Addressing complaints must not go on for years. Deputy Carthy is right regarding the case he has brought. I have met the family in question over the years. They always seem to be seven steps away from getting at the truth. That must not be. Ours is not an enormous society so we can surely provide mechanisms to do what is required properly. I look forward to debating the specifics of the legislation and to having what I hope will be a really effective oversight body.

We need to give the new form of GSOC additional powers. The Garda looks for the powers for itself but those who are to hold it to account need, at least, powers at the same level. I do not know Judge Rory MacCabe. I wish him well. His CV looks very impressive. It is a cause of interest, at least, that the original underlying legislation envisaged that the chairperson of GSOC would be a member of the superior courts. Nobody came through the associated process. Was it that nobody in the superior courts wanted the position? A little bit of investigation is required. Maybe the Minister has already done so privately to determine why it was the case. I am sure Judge MacCabe, who is now going to be made a member of the High Court, will operate admirably. I thank, and appreciate the work of, the outgoing chairperson, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, whom I believe did a sterling job in the circumstances. I wish her well on her return to the Bench.

The oversight of policing is a pivotal issue for our democracy. We need to get it right. We will have a broader opportunity, when we debate the forthcoming legislation, to get it right. As a House of democratic accountability, we must ensure enduring oversight so people can have absolute confidence in policing and the way the laws are enforced in this country and so some of the dreadful anomalies that have arisen in the past couple of decades will not recur.

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