Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is general agreement that, as they are now structured, the existing compensation mechanisms available to members of An Garda Síochána who are injured and to their family members is cumbersome and in need of major overhaul. I heartily welcome the new arrangements set out in the Bill before the House. The objective is to make the process easier and speedier. We hope that will also be the outcome because we have often enacted legislation with certain objectives only for it not to turn out exactly as hoped. The objective is also to bring about more predictable outcomes for every individual member of An Garda Síochána who experiences suffering or injury and for the family members of murdered members and to allow them to expect compensation to arrive in a predictable and timely manner. I am mindful of the fact that members of An Garda Síochána go out and protect us day in and day out. I attended the opening of the new divisional Garda headquarters in my home town of Wexford, which is a magnificent new building.

Poignantly, when one walks in the front door, there is a plaque dedicated to the memory of the late Garda Seamus Quaid, who was murdered by the IRA in 1980. That tells the people of Wexford how much they owe to the members of An Garda Síochána for the maintenance of peace since the foundation of the State.

We are fortunate to still have a largely unarmed police force in this country, the members of which generally enjoy the trust and confidence of our people. I remember the day a couple of years ago when members and former members of An Garda Síochána walked out of their old premises in Wexford town, which they have occupied since the 1930s, and marched through the town to the new building. I was privileged to march among them as one of the local representatives. The townspeople lined the street and applauded as the members of An Garda Síochána marched between the two buildings. That speaks volumes as to the standing of our unarmed police force.

Another measure of the trust and confidence the people of Ireland have in An Garda Síochána, as any of us who are called to public meetings know, is that the one thing we can be sure of is there will be a call for more gardaí, more patrols and more visible policing. There are not too many agents of enforcement for which that would be the case, but it is the case for members of An Garda Síochána. We are mindful, too, that this is not the case in every state. It is important, therefore, at the outset of a debate like this, that we recognise and acknowledge the critical role played by An Garda Síochána in all our communities. By international comparisons, the force is greatly regarded.

By the nature of their work, gardaí put themselves in harm's way, whether in responding to a break-in or robbery or when called to a domestic dispute. They do not know what will face them when they arrive or what personal danger may confront them. When gardaí are inevitably injured in the course of their duties, the State not only has a duty to provide appropriate and adequate compensation but also to provide a clear mechanism to process such claims that is both timely and efficient. The Minister's new scheme meets this objective. She referenced the new process briefly, but it is useful to go through the individual elements.

If this particular measure is enacted, an injured member will be able to apply to the Garda Commissioner for compensation within six months of the injury and the Commissioner will appoint a reporting officer. If the latter concludes that the injury is one comprehended by this Bill, he or she will recommend compensation. If not, it is open to the member to have that decision independently reviewed. An assessment will then be made, should the reporting officer deem it appropriate, by PIAB. Should the decision of PIAB be queried, it is possible to have an independent judicial review of its determination.

I want to say a few words about PIAB, but, first, I remind the House of the long debates regarding that body, which have not entirely ended. There was an enormous pushback from the legal profession, which is extremely well represented in the Oireachtas, to the establishment of the board. I am afraid I am going to ascribe a base motive to this opposition in that some of the resistance from some barriers was because they foresaw an end to a lucrative source of work for themselves. PIAB has, in my judgment, impacted to the good on general personal injury claims. The establishment of a book of quantum has brought some measure of standardisation to payments, which is really important. If a person is injured in a road traffic incident, for example, or if a member of An Garda Síochána is injured in the course of his or her duties, the amount of compensation that person receives should not be dependent on the viewpoint of the individual judge who has seizure of the case. There must be some degree of standardisation in these matters. It seems that the PIAB mechanism could also be applied fairly to cases where gardaí are injured. As I said, there is an ultimate right of appeal is to the courts where there is a belief that fairness has not been achieved in terms of the compensation awarded.

Having said that, I want to make a clear distinction between accidental injuries caused by road traffic incidents or workplace incidents, for instance, and some of the injuries sustained by members of An Garda Síochána. The latter are sometimes deliberately attacked, including by having acid, urine or contaminated materials thrown at them. Some are stabbed with vials of liquid which could be anything and which could contain any kind of contamination. Some have had vehicles deliberately driven at them, causing horrific injuries. Such attacks are unthinkable for most people in most lines of work. They just do not happen. Unfortunately, however, they are incidents that are endured not absolutely infrequently by members of An Garda Síochána. They have been experienced by gardaí in the past and, as we must be mindful, they will be experienced by members in the future. The psychological impact of such attacks must be weighed alongside physical injuries and increased compensation calculated accordingly. If we are going to ask people to put themselves in harm's way in protection of our communities, they need to know they will get adequate compensation if they are hurt and that, God forbid, should they lose their lives in defence of our communities and our State, their families will be more than adequately looked after, protected and held in the esteem that is appropriate and proper to members of An Garda Síochána.

Important points were raised in the other House about persons who work alongside members of An Garda Síochána, often doing the same type of work. For example, members of the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, were mentioned. I thought the Minister might respond to those comments in her statement and indicate whether those types of workers are to be brought into the embrace of this legislation. It seems to me a reasonable and fair request that if there is a raid by CAB on people suspected of serious crime in order to seize goods, which certainly would be a case of those involved putting themselves in harm's way, and where they are not attested members of An Garda Síochána but other officers of the State working alongside the force, then they should have the same type of protection. I do not know whether the Minister has had an opportunity to reflect further on that matter since the debate in the other House. Perhaps she will respond in her closing comments.

The Minister has responded to the other matter that was raised in Seanad Éireann, namely, the situation of the growing number of civilian staff who work hand in glove with members of An Garda Síochána. It was my understanding from reading the text of the debate in the Upper House, which was taken by the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, that a commitment was given to introduce an amendment to broaden the definition of "member" encompassed by the legislation to include civilian staff.

However, in her opening statement today, the Minister indicated that this is currently under consideration in the Department. I had hoped the decision to do this would be made and that the period of consideration would be over. The Minister might clarify if it is intended to amend the Bill on Committee Stage to broaden the definition to include civilian staff of An Garda Síochána and, it is to be hoped, others.

There is another point on which I am not clear; perhaps I have not read the Bill comprehensively enough. Are active members of the Garda Reserve encompassed by the legislation? If not, they should be. It is a matter that the Minister might mention in her response.

There are three categories that I would like to be encompassed by the legislation - officers of the Criminal Assets Bureau working in tandem with An Garda Síochána, Garda civilian staff who are often working on the front line inasmuch as they are meeting people coming in off the street into a workplace and members of the Garda Reserve should they be called out in uniform, so they would have the same protections. They might well have, but, if not, they should have. Again, that is something the Minister might mention.

In providing for this new mechanism for compensation, we must also acknowledge that our first duty, both as an Oireachtas and as a people, is a duty of care to prevent harm happening in the first instance. Although we are focused on the compensation for harm that has actually occurred, we also should be mindful to do everything possible to prevent injury and harm from happening in the first place. There is the provision of adequate and proper equipment, such as stab-proof jackets. There were endless rows and calls for this to happen. Is it the case that they are uniformly and everywhere available to members of An Garda Síochána now? Is a stab-proof vest available for anybody who wishes to use it? When visors are needed are they always available? Is appropriate footwear always available? With regard to vehicles, there was a request some time ago for high-capacity vehicles to be made available to An Garda Síochána because there was often the ludicrous situation where a vehicle being used by organised criminals would leave the standard Garda vehicle in its wake. I am aware that some expenditure was provided to An Garda Síochána to provide appropriate vehicles. However, is that comprehensive? Are those types of appropriate, high-performance vehicles in every Garda division? I might table a parliamentary question to the Minister so she can gather the information for me. What I am saying, in essence, is that whenever members of An Garda Síochána are on the front line they should have whatever degree of support and protection we can give them. That should be a matter of course.

The other issue is the provision of body cameras. To safeguard members of An Garda Síochána and also the general public, it is important that all incidents are properly recorded. Again, the Minister might give us an indication regarding the roll-out of body cameras for members of An Garda Síochána. I believe they are essential pieces of safety equipment too. Are they uniformly available?

In addition, although we have built a number of new Garda stations across the country, there are still many decrepit Garda stations. I am sure many Members of the House could point to their own localities where there could be investment. It is to ensure, from a safety perspective, that if people come into a station who are perhaps under the influence or are rowdy or violent, that we do not have probably largely civilian staff but also members of An Garda Síochána front-facing and vulnerable. We have to balance the right of every citizen to access An Garda Síochána and to have private discussions that are not overhead by anybody else who happens to be in the vicinity with affording whatever protection we can give to members of An Garda Síochána and their support staff in carrying out their duties.

There is another issue I wish to raise with the Minister. It is not exactly central to this legislation, but it is to the overall context. The Minister is leading a significant reform agenda in respect of An Garda Síochána. I have said many positive things about gardaí, the esteem in which they are held and the sacrifices they have made. However, it is the nature of any disciplined force that often it circles the wagons and is inward-looking. All of us who have been in public life for a long time have encountered instances where members of An Garda Síochána feel bullied within the force. If we are talking about the safety and protection from harm of individual members by way of compensation, we should also make sure that there are robust protection mechanisms for everybody, particularly now that there are many more women attested members, so they feel safe, secure and free from bullying within, and free to call out cases of bullying where they occur in the workplace. I know the Minister has a personal interest in this, but I wished to mention it in the context of this legislation. However, perhaps we will return to it. People, regardless of where they work, are entitled to do their duties free from any sense of bullying and harassment. That can happen occasionally, particularly within a disciplined force, and unfortunately there are cases of bullying now emerging from within the Army. Any instance is one too many, and too many have arisen.

We are at a point where substantial change is taking place in policing in Ireland. There are a number of reforming legislative measures. The leader of the Labour Party today raised a concern I have about one legislative measure which deals with the management body of An Garda Síochána. It is one point of an important and progressive set of reforms, but we will debate that at another time. The Bill before us is a small but significant part of the important modernisation to which the legislation being brought forward by the Minister on so many fronts is contributing. By and large, it has support across all parties in the House.

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