Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This relates to the need for profound reform of the legislation governing An Garda Síochána, rather than putting another sticking plaster over what is increasingly a festering wound.

The Garda Commissioner appointed somebody to investigate the case and it was subsequently found that somebody had been procured to give evidence against the garda concerned. All of this was brought to the attention of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. Having looked at the case, it determined that, as regards the evidence against the persons being tried in the Special Criminal Court, there was other evidence against them and they were legally represented at the time. With regard to the garda's evidence, it was found to be his opinion, the evidence of somebody else, the effluxion of time and all that. It culminated in a decision, taking all of these matters into consideration, that GSOC was of the view that it was not desirable in the public interest to investigate the allegations under the 2005 Act.

Desirability in the public interest is unique to disclosures made to the Garda ombudsman. If it is not in the public interest to investigate corruption in An Garda Síochána, the doctoring of evidence and the singling out of somebody to carry the can, if only to find that everything was being done properly, what is the public interest? Is there no public interest whatsoever? GSOC, as a matter of public record, is very badly funded and unable to carry out its functions, but I understand it has a number of public interests to satisfy and may be tasked with doing a loaves and fishes operation. However, it is important for the integrity of policing in Ireland that a light is shone on all aspects of policing, including matters that occurred some time ago. If we do not look properly at what happened some time ago, how can anybody have confidence in what is happening today?

This Bill is yet another sticking plaster from the Department of Justice. There is very little legislation going through the House at the moment. I do not know why that is, and I have raised this issue on previous occasions. We could have come up with something a little more profound than that which is in this Bill. Essentially, we are trying to preserve a status quowhich we have accepted is inadequate. That is a ridiculous proposition for the Minister to bring to the House.

We know the situation is inadequate, and we have had only four years to come up with an alternative. Now the courts have struck down the situation, which we have already accepted is not really up to scratch, but the Government will provide a legal basis to carry on this operation nonetheless. To use a colloquialism, it could be considered whistling past the graveyard. You know when you have the awful sense that things are not really going the way you want them to go? The Government will just keep going for another little while and pretend it is all right. It is not.

We need proper legislation. There is a much more detailed Garda Bill going through the Houses - very slowly, it has to be said. The heads of that Bill were examined by the Committee on Justice at some point last winter, and I have not seen it come to Second Stage yet. That legislation mirrors large pieces of the existing legislation. Major discretion is afforded to the Garda Commissioner. In particular, that legislation mirrors the idea that certain matters will be brought to the attention of the Minister for Justice in order that he or she - at the moment, of course, we have a female Minister for Justice, which is very much to be welcomed - be kept informed of matters that may be of interest to him or her. There was the Phil Hogan incident whereby the Minister was informed of the fact he had been apprehended with a mobile phone to his ear while driving. It is a long way from the prosecution of people in the Special Criminal Court for bank robberies to raise funding for subversives. It might be of interest to a Minister for Justice to know exactly what is going on in the country or to know that somebody - a political opponent, perhaps, or a thorny political personage - was driving around while carrying a mobile phone. That is political policing, really, and we are to continue with that on the Statute Book without any overhaul of the laws that govern An Garda Síochána.

All of that, of course, leads to a lack of confidence in An Garda Síochána among the population and a lack of confidence in An Garda Síochána and An Garda Síochána management among lower ranking officers, which is a very big problem. Bringing in sticking-plaster legislation in order that we can still have presenting officers in the District Court is not the answer and not what we need. It marks a very disappointing lack of ambition on the part of the Department of Justice - not, I should say, the civil servants in the Department of Justice because it is for Ministers, senior and junior, to lead the Department of Justice. I do not see a whole lot of leadership there at the moment. On that basis I will oppose the Bill.

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