Seanad debates

Thursday, 30 October 2008

12:00 pm

Photo of Jim WalshJim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to debate this important report from Mr. Justice Morris. There have been eight reports, many of which have been debated previously in this House. Many changes in practice within the Garda Síochána have ensued as a consequence of these reports. As the Minister of State said, Mr. Justice Morris deserves credit. The tribunal was long and protracted and took more than six and a half years to complete its work. It is fair to say that the practice of issuing reports and conclusions following completion of each module has been beneficial in informing the change which has taken place in the policing practices in this country. We will reap the benefits of this in the future.

It is worthwhile stating that we are, in this debate, dealing with the 6th, 7th and 8th reports. The 6th report made serious findings against a number of members of the Garda Síochána arising from the unfortunate death of Richie Barron. It found that a number of persons were unlawfully arrested and detained and that some were mistreated in custody. Equally alarming is that the tribunal did not accept the evidence of several members of the Garda Síochána and strongly condemned the incidences of mistreatment it uncovered. This goes to the core of what the police force should be about in terms of trust and its respect for other institutions of the State. That the tribunal did not accept some of the evidence given illustrates that much was going wrong in that jurisdiction in Donegal.

The 7th report uncovered a continuing pattern of harassment by some gardaí, the issuance of 68 summons against associates of the McBrearty family and that Detective Sergeant White planted drugs on Paul Quinn to teach him a lesson. It is fair to point out that those members of the force impugned in the 7th report are no longer members of the Garda in that they have either been dismissed, retired or have resigned.

The 7th report also points out that the Garda Síochána Complaints Board had neither the statutory powers nor the resources to deal effectively with the scale of events that emerged in Donegal. In my opinion, this raises questions such as why the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform was not aware of the deficiencies in the Garda Síochána Complaints Board and why remedial action was not taken. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of management controls within the Garda Síochána generally and, in particular, in regard to the exercise of responsibility by Garda headquarters. These matters should be examined to ensure the force is strengthened. While I accept there has been a great deal of change we must not allow this type of scenario to develop again.

I was previously a member of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights which examined investigations by the Garda Síochána during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The lack of preservation by gardaí of crucial evidence in the most serious of crimes, some involving multiple murders, and the lack of control exercised by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform illustrated, in my opinion, a clear dereliction of duty at the time by senior people on whom the State was depending to ensure we had effective policing in this country.

I am pleased that, perhaps as a consequence of the findings of the Morris tribunal, the ensuing reports and other incidents, we now have a Garda Ombudsman Commission and a Garda inspectorate — which I strongly welcomed — which has a critical role to play in ensuring we have a police force of which this State and its citizens can be proud. The majority of gardaí are honest and good people who want to carry out their duties to the best of their abilities.

The establishment of the joint policing committees was a great innovation of previous Ministers. I accept that changes have been made. There has been much criticism of the Garda Síochána as an institution of this State arising from the events in Donegal, in particular, and in other areas. Abuses of power cannot and should not be accepted.

I join those who praise Mr. Justice Morris for his commitment to this task on behalf of the State. As a consequence of his good work, we will hopefully never see a recurrence. Listening to the Order of Business, I heard about people talking out of both sides of their mouths. We are happy to accept aspects of the report, but Senator Regan disagrees with other aspects. When others take a similar position, that is not acceptable to Senator Regan. Subjective views apply here.

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