Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister said, the motion is necessitated by the commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024. He will be aware that Sinn Féin expressed a number of concerns during the passage of this legislation about some other changes being introduced. We have to recognise that the lack of real oversight and accountability where wrongdoing has taken place has been one of the significant contributing factors to the undermining in some instances of public confidence in An Garda Síochána. The oversight bodies have not had the powers or the resources needed to ensure that the Garda is properly accountable. There was a real problem with the slow pace of GSOC investigations and the extent to which complaints were passed back to gardaí - a situation of gardaí investigating gardaí.

Sinn Féin also raised concerns during the passage of the legislation about transparency, accountability and the potential weakening of oversight by some of these changes, including the creation of an internal Garda board, taking some of the powers that would have previously been held by the Policing Authority. I ask the Minister for Justice to look again at ensuring that the oversight bodies, particularly the policing and community safety authority, have the ability to conduct unannounced visits and inspections. That is crucial in its work.

That the Policing Security and Community Safety Act is only now being commenced has left a vacuum at a time when many communities are struggling with issues of crime and antisocial behaviour. We need to see an urgency in establishing the local community safety partnerships that were provided for under this Act.

Dealing with financial matters, I note that the briefing document which the Minister received upon taking office, highlighted that the criminal injuries compensation scheme was due to be exhausted by the end of last month with claims exceeding the money available. That is deeply concerning given that this scheme is vital for supporting victims of crime, including those who have experienced life-changing injuries. I ask the Minister to give the Dáil an update on the situation and if additional funds have been made available for the scheme. That this fund is running out of money so early in the year highlights a wider problem about the need for the criminal injuries compensation tribunal to be put on a statutory footing. Victims of serious crime have demanded action on this for many years. They want the bureaucratic delays addressed. They want to see the lack of transparency addressed and the inadequate recognition of victims' suffering to end. I call on the Minister to prioritise the criminal injuries compensation Bill, which is on the legislative schedule.

We all recognise the important work the Garda does within our communities. We all recognise the esteem in which gardaí are predominantly held, but there are occasions when gardaí have acted in a manner that is unbecoming of the force. In such instances, there has to be accountability. These organisations need to have the power to demand that. We also need to go further. In the previous debate, the Minister set out the importance of respecting majority decisions made in this House. I remind him that the Dáil has twice, by majority decision, called for the establishment of a public inquiry into the case of Shane O'Farrell. I encourage the Minister to proceed on that basis.

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