Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 3: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has satisfied himself that the recruitment of a retired senior Garda officer (details supplied) who was strongly criticised by the Morris tribunal to interview candidates for the Garda reserve was in keeping with best practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42179/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Appointments to Garda recruitment interview boards, including those for reserve members, are a matter for the Garda authorities and the Public Appointments Service. I have no function in appointing persons to such boards. In the particular case neither I nor the Commissioner was personally aware of the appointment. The Commissioner has informed me he would not have approved of the appointment if it had been brought to his attention. It is a matter for the Garda authorities and the Public Appointments Service to determine the appropriate vetting arrangements to apply in appointments to such interview boards and the procedures to consider all the available information on potential board members.

I am very anxious that nothing is done to affect the good standing of the Garda reserve in the eyes of the people and have communicated this view to the Garda Commissioner who shares my perspective completely and the Public Appointments Service. The very fact that this controversy has arisen underlines the need for care. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the person referred to sat for one day on a two-person interview board in Sligo for the selection of trainee reserve members. It is not in keeping with best practice and, as far as the Commissioner and I are concerned, it will not happen again.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Former superintendent, John Fitzgerald, was criticised by Mr. Justice Frederick Morris for leading the utterly negligent investigation into the death of cattle dealer, Richie Barron. My concern is whether the culture within the force has changed. It is largely agreed that for the Garda Síochána to regain its position as a respected and trusted protector of the peace, the organisation must root out the small but disproportionately influential core of mischief-making members who damaged the reputation of the force with such detrimental effect.

How can we weed them out when retired members of the force linked so closely to wrongdoing in Donegal are brought in to recruit new members of the force? I wish to highlight the lack of communication between the Department and the Garda Síochána. One of the key concerns voiced by Mr. Justice Morris was the issue of effective communication between the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Garda headquarters.

One of the most glaring omissions from the Minister's raft of reforms to date is the establishment of an independent Garda authority. It seems the Minister states he and the Government act as a Garda authority but that is not good enough.

Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Deputy should confine himself to the question.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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What measures will the Minister put in place to ensure this does not happen again?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I will deal comprehensively with the issue of the Garda authority in the coming week. It is time this issue was crystalised and——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Does the Minister promise legislation?

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Before Christmas.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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No, I promise a public statement of all the reasons it would be disastrous to establish an independent Garda authority. Members can wait for that——

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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With bated breath.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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——and we can have a good debate on it.

To answer Deputy Cuffe's question, of course, it was a mistake to put that person on the board. I do not know precisely why that mistake happened. It was a mistake that will not be repeated. I spoke to the Commissioner about it and he shares my view and surprise it happened. It may have been an innocent blunder rather than anything sinister. Clearly, it had the potential to harm the reserve.

It was not a question of this person being sent out to recruit people for the force. It was a person deciding whether people were suitable to be in the Garda Síochána. Even then, it is not an acceptable situation that this controversy arose. With a minimum of circumspection, the situation would have been avoided.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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What guarantees can the Minister give that this will not happen again? He seems to be wiping his hands of it but nonetheless stating it will not happen again. What systematic changes will the Minister make to ensure it will not happen again?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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It is somebody else's fault.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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It is not a question of it being somebody else's fault.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Whose fault is it?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Commissioner indicated it will not recur and has given directions to ensure it will not recur. Obviously, it was not brought to his attention. If it had been, he would not have approved. All I can tell the Deputy is the truth, which is somebody who should have thought carefully but did not made an erroneous decision. The decision was not taken at the level of Commissioner. In the circumstances, the Commissioner disapproved of it and made his views clear.