Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank her for her clear statement. The crux of this matter is the achievement of justice for the McCabe family. Since this story broke, I have not encountered anyone who does not have enormous sympathy for the McCabes and the ordeal they have been subjected to. I thoroughly believe the Minister is sincere in relation to this issue. I welcome the Government’s commitment in principle to the establishment of a public tribunal of inquiry to investigate allegations. Having been involved in a couple of public inquiries as a solicitor, I have misgivings about this kind of structure because we have created monsters in the past. I hope we will be given clear guidelines about the kind of tribunal we can set up. It would not be helpful to anyone if we were to create a tribunal that will go on for years and years at enormous cost to the State. I have personal experience of this. I would be interested to know what kind of timescale is envisaged for the proposed tribunal of inquiry.

It is imperative for us to be crystal clear at all times that every citizen enjoys a presumption of innocence. This whole affair has brought to light how easy it is to throw mud - for want of a better expression - and for it to stick to someone until he or she is cleared in the way that Sergeant McCabe has thankfully been cleared. Perhaps a wider debate is needed on this aspect of the matter in the months to come. We have to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty. It is worth bearing in mind, notwithstanding the serious and real allegations that are made against individuals, that it is very easy for allegations to be made. I hope the tribunal will unearth the truth. The priority has to be full justice for the McCabe family. As politicians, we accept the he-said, she-said dynamic as part of the business of politics but it is not necessarily helpful to the McCabes - or indeed to the business of the Government - to speak in this way as if we were children in the playground. The statement the Minister has made in this House today is very clear. I do not think we need to go on about that side of things any longer.

I would like to discuss the reform of the Garda, which has inevitably been highlighted as part of this affair. The Government should be given credit for its good track record in this regard, most notably in establishing the Policing Authority. The establishment of this independent body certainly represented a sea change when it comes to policing in this country. I am encouraged by the commitment of the Minister for Justice and Equality to introduce the strongest possible protections for whistleblowers in the policing area. These measures, along with the new code of ethics that is being introduced to new recruits in Templemore, are welcome and necessary. We must put in place strong, durable and sustainable policies and procedures to prevent a recurrence of recent events. It is of the utmost importance that allegations of wrongdoing by members of the Garda are fully addressed. I put it to the Minister that we need to stress that this is not an issue of what was said to whom. We need to get on with investigating what happened with regard to Tusla and Sergeant McCabe. We should move away from the media entertainment of the past week.

I would like to ask the Minister a couple of questions about the McCabe issue and to remind the House of this Government's achievements in the area of child welfare....ctg....this opportunity to remind the House that this Government has achieved in child welfare in setting up the Department for Children and Youth Affairs and an agency for children, established for the first time in the history of the State....and The Minister, Deputy Zappone is a very welcome addition to that ministry. The Government has also enshrined children's rights in the Constitution by way of a referendum. The big question is concerning the communication links between the staff of Tusla and the Garda. Senator Clifford Lee has already touched on that point so I will not repeat the question. I have heard of other alleged breaches which include cases of medical notes being sent to the wrong patients, a Tusla report being attached to an information booklet and posted out by mistake and a patient’s chart being left on a garden wall. I do not know if he Minister has heard oof incidents such as this but Hopefullt that will be a spedy and

It has set up the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and an agency for children has been established for the time in the history of the State. The Minister, Deputy Zappone, is a very welcome addition to that ministry. This Government has also enshrined children’s rights in the Constitution by way of a referendum. The big question for me concerns communication links between the staff of Tusla and the Garda. As Senator Clifford-Lee has already touched on this point, I will not repeat it as I had a similar question.

I have heard of other alleged breaches, which include cases of medical notes being sent to the wrong patients, a Tusla report being attached to an information booklet and posted out by mistake, and an incident of a patient’s chart being left on a garden wall. I do not know if the Minister has heard of such incidences but I welcome the proposal to set up a statutory investigation. Hopefully that will be a speedy investigation and we will get answers sooner rather than later. As we await the tribunal's outcome, the Minister might confirm whether Tusla has made similar mistakes in respect of any other members of An Garda Síochána. The Minister may not be in a position to answer that today but I would be interested to learn whether other members of the force have been subjected to similar instances. If they have, what supports can be given to these individuals and their families? What are the immediate measures proposed by the Minister? I welcome the statutory investigation into the abuse allegations in Tusla. What kind of assurances can be given to those members of the public who have files in Tusla that their data will be protected? I thank the Minister for coming to the House expeditiously this week to address these matters.