Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I support the comments made by Senator Brian Hayes on the importance of supporting the families of the victims of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. I call on the Leader for a debate on the MacEntee report before the general election.

I support Senator O'Toole's calls for a review of the Garda force. The various tribunals into Garda conduct have shown there is a culture in the Garda of circling the wagons if anything happens. This has been evident in other incidences that have not been the subject of tribunal inquiry. There is a need for a radical reform of the Garda. Senator Maurice Hayes has pointed to how Garda recruits are trained. They should not be sent to Templemore but integrated with other students of other disciplines to get a broader outlook on life. The most important reform the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has not grasped is the need for an independent Garda authority. We need a similar structure to the policing board in the North to ensure the Garda Síochána is radically reformed and the necessary accountability and transparency is provided. While the establishment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is a welcome initiative and it will commence its work on 8 May, we also need to establish an independent Garda authority. I would like a debate, if possible, on that matter.

One of the findings in the recent report of the Inspector of Mental Health Services is that patients in mental health institutions are often left wandering aimlessly all day — they are not provided with the appropriate therapies and such assistance. The conditions in some institutions are very poor and not at all fitting in terms of the conditions that should be in place in those institutions in this day and age. I would like a debate, if possible, on that report before the forthcoming election.