Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak briefly about section 71. The governance framework provided for in this section is to be devised by the board. It seems that is a good idea but what I am increasingly worried about in respect of this Bill – I want to put it on the record – is the whole process of running An Garda Síochána is becoming more and more complicated. On the provisions of this Bill, I note the so-called independent Policing Authority is being replaced but the relationship between the Parliament, the national police force, the Minister and the Commissioner is being made increasingly complicated and increasingly regulated.

I will confine myself to this observation. The Garda Síochána Act 2005, which was introduced by a person not too distant from where I am now, was superior to all of this, if it was operated correctly. The amendments made to it and the Policing Authority, which is now being abolished, were an aberration. I note the commission reported on this matter and came up with its own views on it. However, there is nothing as good as having a member of Government who is responsible to the Oireachtas, and to Dáil Éireann in particular, for the police force of the country, who carries the can when things go wrong and who has a direct relationship with the Commissioner without the involvement of a layer of a series of other bodies that are cluttering responsibility.

I wish to make one other point about governance and An Garda Síochána. The direct relationship between the Commissioner and An Garda Síochána's Minister, namely, the Minister for Justice, has never caused a problem in the past. Nobody has ever alleged that Ministers were wrongfully interfering in the way in which An Garda Síochána was run or that the simpler procedures were defective or incapable of being run correctly.

My last point is that in 2007, the 2005 Act was amended to accommodate the views of the Maurice Hayes group, a former Member of this House who kindly agreed to look at the governance of An Garda Síochána in the light of the Morris report on Donegal. He came up with a proposal that a small board should assist the Commissioner. As to the composition of that board, that amendment was made but never implemented.

I think we should keep it short and simple, and I will do that with this intervention. We are massively overcomplicating the policing function in this State. The old system that was provided for in 2005 and 2007 was perfectly capable of running An Garda Síochána. There were no complaints that that system did not work. There were people who were misguided and said that if Northern Ireland has an independent policing authority, we need the same thing here. The notion of its independence was a complete distraction because nobody should be independent of this House. The Minister for Justice and his relationship with the Commissioner was never independent of being accountable to Dáil Éireann and the Oireachtas.

My strong view is that although this new system will be an improvement on the mistaken governance that was put in place after the changes were made subsequent to the 2005 Act, it still leaves things massively overcomplicated. The time will come when somebody will ask what was wrong with the old system. What did it do wrong? What did it prevent from happening that was good? In Northern Ireland, there is an independent policing authority. We were told that we needed a body here to depoliticise policing whereas in Northern Ireland, the independent policing authority has party political members appointed on the D’Hondt principle. We were being asked by people to imitate institutions and structures, which were to reflect a divided community in Northern Ireland by replicating something similar here.

If it is not broken, do not try to fix it. The sheer size of this Bill depresses me, and the fact that it is simply not necessary. The Minister is well capable of functioning under the old system and all of this extra furniture is only complicating the matter. I will leave it at that.