Feargal Quinn (Independent)

The Minister of State used words which record what most of us feel such as "deplore", "appalled" and, "therefore, public confidence in the force has been seriously damaged". However, when I talk about public confidence in the force, I am not just talking about the public confidence that was shattered recently in Donegal. I am worried about damaging even more the public confidence we need in the force to ensure it does what we need it to do, namely, to enforce the law.

We have a State for 80 years in which we have had confidence in a generally unarmed police force. We must not allow what happened in Donegal to damage our confidence in that force. Just as I expect to get electricity when I turn on a switch, and just as I expect to get water when I turn on the tap, which does not always happen in other states, whenever I picked up the phone to the Garda Síochána over the past 40 years I have been in business or at home, I always got a response. I do not want us to find ourselves in a situation where we damage or hamper the ability of the Garda Síochána to do the job we value so much, namely, protecting citizens and their property.

I recall on one occasion being called to a break-in at one of our supermarkets and the gardaí followed me. I recall a garda opening the fridge door and inside were two men armed with knives. It was 2 a.m. I was never as grateful for that garda who protected me and the others who were on the premises. This is just one example of the many occasions we as citizens have called on the Garda and relied on its members. I am concerned at some of the calls in recent times, and understandably so, because our confidence and trust in the Garda may have been damaged and we may overreact.

I am pleased to hear the Minister of State speak today about a balanced response. The legislation which will be introduced must be watched carefully, whether it relates to the ombudsman, the administration or the management of the Garda. I agree with one other issue to which the Minister of State referred, namely, management. Good management practice should mean the buck will stop somewhere. I am concerned about the suggestion that we should have some other type of Garda authority. The Minister of State gave a good response to that suggestion when he spoke about the United States and Canada not having a police authority. If we had this type of authority, we would still be howling for the Minister's head if anything went wrong, and he would be out of control because the administration would be in place.

The buck should stop here and at the Garda Commissioner's head and, if he does a bad job, he should be dismissed. If the Minister does a bad job, he should be dismissed. Therefore, I support the proposals in the legislation. I hope the Minister and the Government will respond to any amendments tabled. We are very fortunate to have Senator Maurice Hayes and to be able to benefit from his experience. Given that sensible head on the shoulders of one of our Members, and the words of the Minister of State, I believe our opinions will be listened to. My real concern is that we might damage the ability of the Garda Síochána to do the job it has done very effectively in the past 80 years, with very few exceptions. When introducing good management practice, we must ensure that it will not hamper gardaí from doing the job they are required to do. We know about the few bad apples but we must ensure that what happened in Donegal and elsewhere will not encourage us to take steps that will hamper gardaí from doing the job they do so effectively, and for which we have been very grateful over the past 80 years.