Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he is confident that all the recommendations of the Morris tribunal will be implemented; and the timeframe within which this can be expected. [21066/08]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made to date with regard to implementation of the recommendations of the first five reports of the Morris tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21077/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 160 together.

The work of the Morris Tribunal has greatly influenced the policy underpinning the Garda Síochána Act 2005 which constituted the most fundamental review of the Garda Síochána in the history of the State. The extent of those reforms and the speed with which they were implemented are indicative of the level of commitment the Government, my predecessors and the Commissioner attach to the reports of the Morris Tribunal.

The Act gave rise to:

the establishment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission,

the establishment of the Garda Inspectorate as a source of independent and expert advice for the Minister,

a statutory obligation on members to account for their actions on duty without delay,

new streamlined discipline procedures,

the empowerment of the Garda Commissioner, with the consent of the Government, to dismiss a member of Garda, sergeant or inspector rank where he has lost confidence in the capacity of the member to discharge his or her duty and where dismissal is considered necessary to maintain public confidence in the Force, and

new whistleblowers regulations and the appointment of an eminent former senior civil servant as a Confidential Recipient.

A new system of promotions has been put in place. A civilian Chief Administrative Officer (at Deputy Commissioner level) and Director of Communications have been appointed and three further senior civilian posts — Legal Advisor, Director of Information and Communications Technology and Director of Change Management are being recruited at present.

The Garda Commissioner has implemented a significant programme of change in response to the findings and conclusions of the Tribunal including for example a new covert human intelligence handling system. He is also currently engaged in the preparation of a new code of ethics under section 17 of the Act of 2005.

The findings of the sixth report are under consideration at present but Deputies can rest assured on the basis of the Government's track record in these matters that they will not be ignored either by myself or the Garda Commissioner.