Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for a very comprehensive overview of this Bill. I welcome the Bill. The Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister of State are bringing forward necessary legislation. This Bill deals with the defects in the system. It gives wider powers to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman, which is welcome. I welcome the extension of the time limit for filing complaints from six months to 12 months. There is also a problem about interception of postal packets. Some of these are technical amendments but they are important.

While mistakes have been made they have been made by very few people. I am based in Cork and the contribution of the gardaí to the local community there has been fantastic. I have worked with them for over 25 years, particularly with young people. I have seen many gardaí involved in various community organisations after hours, without pay, in particular directing young people who have got involved in crime at an early age into youth clubs, sports organisations and education. I had the privilege of being involved in one such facility which had at any one time more than 40 young people who had dropped out of school. Every one of them was heading in the wrong direction, getting involved in petty crime which in the long term would lead to more serious issues. Nine times out of ten it was the gardaí who got those people back into the education system. There were gardaí involved with the board and at all stages in that process. When we did a survey of the people who had left the facility five years previously we found that over 70% were in full-time employment. They came from families where neither the parents nor the grandparents had ever worked. That project would not have succeeded without the contribution of the gardaí. It is easy to criticise a few but it is important to also give credit to the people who work beyond the call of duty.

This Bill puts in place the procedures necessary to deal with issues that arise if people are not doing their job or not doing it correctly. It also gives power to the Minister under the section which allows the Minister to refer a matter to GSOC. It is important that this is all transparent, except on an issue of national security.

I remind Senator Byrne that the previous Minister, Deputy Shatter, gave the go-ahead for the building of the new prison in Cork, which is progressing. The project was in waiting for over 20 years. I am delighted that it is progressing and that we will have proper facilities. It is also important to develop and grow the educational system within our prisons because there is no point keeping someone in prison for one, two or three years and releasing him or her into the rut he or she was in before going into prison. We have a contribution to make in that area.

This Bill deals with the issues covered by various inquiries in recent years. There is a need for checks and balances. There must also be fairness in any investigation. This Bill provides for that. I welcome the legislation because it will restore the street credibility of the gardaí. We can complain all we like about the gardaí and criticise them for things not done but they cannot work without the support of the community. We have been lucky that the Cork area has not suffered the same level of serious crime as other parts of the country. That is due not only to the gardaí being involved in the local community but also to the community giving support to the gardaí when it is needed.

I welcome this legislation. It is important that it be put into place and that the procedures that must be set up are established under it.