Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for joining us in the House. What we have been hearing about in the past few days is either a matter of the most extraordinary inefficiency or a serious malpractice. I believe the scale and the fact that it took place in every district in Ireland seems to point strongly to the latter, and that we are looking at issues of malpractice.

We are looking at potentially not just errors of omission, but errors of the falsification of records in many cases. It has to be treated in a similar way, as my colleague has said, as it is potentially a criminal matter as well. In that sense I was very disappointed to see the Garda Commissioner at a press conference today, accompanied by the deputy commissioner, speaking of an administrative error. We heard one of the deputy superintendents speaking of his administrative error in terms of who he should have informed of the audit. It was unacceptable on two levels. First, because we are hearing the language of administrative error. We need to be very clear, one cannot make 1 million administrative errors. After the use of cut and paste, language we have heard previously, we need to be clear and stop hiding behind such terms. That is not acceptable.

It was also of great concern that the Commissioner was taking no responsibility, accepting no culpability as the head of the force, but instead having her assistants take responsibility for various administrative errors. Aspersions were being cast and the language was that, "We will find who did this." That sends out a message that there are a few rogue police officers who added a couple of hundred thousand extra to the figures. We need to be very clear that the scale of the operation is across the organisation.The responsibility sits at the top of the organisation.

I take in good faith the Tánaiste's statement that she was not aware of the scale involved, but she indicated that it is clear Garda management was not aware of the scale involved in June 2016. I beg to differ because in August 2015 we already knew, as it had been indicated to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, that there had been 400,000 reports filed with only 200,000 mouthpieces having been used. This is what prompted the audit. When we talk about scale, we should not be disingenuous. They may not have known the full scale involved. However, if they know that there is a 100% error rate, and we are talking about hundreds of thousands, then they know that there was a scale of a problem which I believe in itself was at that point unacceptable and potentially a resigning issue. The scale involved was known to the Garda at that point, although the full scale involved may yet unravel.

Others have spoken to the outrage on the part of the 14,700 people incorrectly convicted. The Tánaiste addressed this point. I urge that not simply employment and economic damage is examined, as there is considerable psychological, emotional and personal damage to people who undergo such a process. It can affect many aspects of their lives and not just employment.

Culture change is key. The Tánaiste stated that it is time now for a root and branch review. I respectfully suggest that it is long past time for a root and branch review. The signals and messaging have been coming forever. The Tánaiste mentioned the Garda Inspectorate report with its thousands of recommendations. These recommendations concern areas which are also of great concern. Along with the over-reporting of road incidents, I am concerned about the under-reporting of racist incidents and domestic violence, for example. Serious concerns have been expressed on their under-reporting, which also form part of the Garda Inspectorate report. The very fact of those recommendations indicates the need for a root and branch review.

It is clear that we cannot have a root and branch review of An Garda Síochána that is headed by the current management. That is unacceptable and will not work. The Tánaiste may speak of it being independent but there is a key concern around transparency of records. I will put a question that was put to the Tánaiste by, I believe, Senator Ó Ríordáin when we discussed the McCabe tribunal in this House. She was asked if she would issue a directive to the Garda Commissioner under section 25 of the Garda Síochána Act 2006 to secure all Garda records and equipment relevant to that inquiry and to safeguard evidence. I was a little shocked and surprised at the time because she said she would not issue such a directive. In respect of the independent inquiry that she is promising and any further root and branch review, will the Tánaiste issue a directive to the Garda Commissioner to secure all records and equipment? It is more pertinent here because this issue relates directly to evidence and the way equipment has been used and records monitored. I urge the Tánaiste to take this seriously.

Lastly, I concur with others that the Commissioner does not have the confidence of the public. Do we have to choose between the confidence of the public in its police force and the confidence of the Government in the Garda Commissioner? It does not seem that the Garda Commissioner has confidence in the body politic because she has indicated that she will not step down even if there is a Dáil vote. This indicates to me that the head of our police force is not confident in us as legislators. This is also a matter of concern.

Lastly, I note the press conference. That the Tánaiste learned information from a press conference is unacceptable and a sign of disrespect on those issues alone.

Lastly, I urge the Tánaiste to ensure that our Garda Síochána restores the-----