Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. He is here so often his wife must wonder if he has a girlfriend in the Seanad.

It is a great surprise when one turns on electricity or a tap and no electricity or water is provided. We have grown used to electricity and water always being available. We have also become accustomed to picking up the phone and a garda arriving. The confidence that they will arrive and do the job is something so valuable that it is worthwhile having this debate and hearing the Minister's response. The steps he is taking must ensure this confidence continues and that we will get reliable help when it is needed.

The key word in today's debate on governance, accountability, discipline and training in the Garda Síochána is "implications". We must consider the implications of what has happened and what action we must take to put things right. As legislators we had to take into account the findings of recent reports into disturbing aspects of policing in parts of this State. Having listened to the debate, there are more reports of which I had not been aware. All accept that change is necessary, including members of the Garda Síochána. We now have a Garda Inspectorate, an advisory group on Garda management, a Garda Ombudsman Commission, a new Garda disciplinary code and the Garda Síochána Act 2005. It is our fervent wish that these measures will enhance development and management of the Garda Síochána to make it a more efficient and effective police service.

Although we seek and expect radical change, in some ways what we want is not change but a reversion to the way things used to be. My hope is that the changes will bring about the situation that obtained in this country for many years, where people trusted the Garda Síochána to protect them and the members of the Garda Síochána relied heavily on the unquestioned community support they received as a matter of course. Members of the criminal fraternity respected and feared the impact of the Garda and the people working together against them.

Unfortunately, such a situation has not obtained in this country in recent times. Although the world has moved on in many ways and the challenges of today are more complicated than they used to be, it is possible to restore the situation to the one most of us happily remember through this raft of reforms.

My business career in Dublin began in Finglas in 1965. For many years hardly a day passed when I did not visit Finglas and in the past few years hardly a week passed without visiting Finglas. There is now a sense of nervousness in Finglas and Kilkenny. That is the present situation but we seek to return to the confidence of the past. This will only happen if we are clear about what we seek to achieve. We should not concentrate on the mistakes of the past, other than to determine that they will never happen again. Rather than focusing on the nuts and bolts of the new reforms, we should put all our effort into the task of rebuilding the trust between the people and the Garda Síochána. We can make a contribution in this respect.

No matter how well motivated or organised, the Garda Síochána cannot do its job properly if it is always looking over its shoulder at a hostile public. The force needs us to trust it to do its job in the current situation. Some members of the force feel they are under attack and on the defensive. The terrible events of the past years have given many people good reason not to trust the Garda Síochána. I do not seek to minimise the impact of that but I urge everyone to look beyond those events to the future that we want. We cannot reach that future without a conscious rebuilding of trust on both sides.

Do these policemen and policewomen believe they have the support and backing of the Oireachtas, the Government and Garda management? Are members of the Garda Síochána avoiding confrontational situations in the belief that if one does not get involved one will not get into trouble? That has happened in the past in other areas. Gardaí may turn a blind eye rather than run the risk of getting into trouble. If circumstances such as this were to prevail the winners would be the law breakers and the losers would be law-abiding citizens.

As legislators we must balance governance and accountability with performance and effectiveness, with each complementing the other. The Minister has taken this into account and his objective is likely to be achieved. He needs our support in order to reach that objective.