A Ceann Comhairle, members of the House,
I want to thank everyone for their contributions on this very important matter.
As I said in my statement yesterday, we need look no further than the bloody recent events in north city Dublin to understand just how important the work of the Garda Síochána is.
And it is precisely because the service it provides is so vital, so important, that it must be delivered to the very highest standards.
The O’Higgins Report details numerous occasions when that did not happen. And it highlights areas where improvements had to be made. These have already been well-rehearsed yesterday and today and I do not have enough time available to go over them all again.
What I do want to do is specifically address some of the points that have been made yesterday and today.
Meeting of Garda officers in Mullingar
I think it is important that I deal with comments in the debate about allegations around what took place at a meeting between Gardaí in Mullingar. I recognise the concerns around these allegations. As has been stated, the Commissioner has asked me to refer that to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and I have declared my intention to do so.
In particular the question was asked as to why this is only being referred to GSOC now.
I think we should be very careful about regarding as established fact something that is reported to have happened at the Commission, which is not referred to in Mr Justice O'Higgins' report. As I have explained to the House before the proceedings before the Commission were by law confidential, so I am not in a position to confirm or deny reports that have come into the public domain about parts of that proceedings because I properly have no knowledge of them.
But even if those facts were established, what is being suggested is the Garda Commissioner should, while the Commission was still going on, have launched her own investigation into certain matters that were before the commission, before Mr Justice O'Higgins had made his findings about the matter. It is easy to see how that would have been portrayed as a gross interference with the work of the Commission.
Now that the Commission has reported, I do not believe that anyone would be satisfied if the Garda Commissioner simply launched her own investigation into the matter.
What we are left with is that, whatever the reality of what actually happened, there is understandable public concern at allegations that members of An Garda Síochána may have fabricated an account of a meeting to cause damage to a colleague. The Garda Commissioner has rightly asked me to refer this matter to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
That is the appropriate forum to deal with properly and fairly with this matter.
I think it is a great pity that within a couple of hours of my announcing that yesterday a Deputy saw fit to put the purported names of persons involved in the meeting on the record of this House. It is hard to reconcile the passion with which some Deputies say they are pursuing justice with a blatant disregard for the rights of others. To campaign under the slogan 'justice for all' rings very hollow when set against using this chamber as some form of kangaroo court.
And, of course, it makes it all the more difficult to discuss the issue, both inside and outside this House, where anything we say is now going to be taken as a reference to two people whose basic human rights have been attacked where they cannot defend themselves.
Treatment of whistleblowers
A number of Deputies raised the treatment of whistleblowers, and the specific cases of other Garda members who have made allegations.
I think any dispassionate reading of the O'Higgins report and an objective assessment of the events of the last couple of years demonstrates two things: the dangers of rushing to judgement and the need to have fair, independent and objective procedures in place for dealing with allegations of wrongdoing within An Garda Síochána.
We should all face up to the fact that my predecessor was excoriated across the floor of this House about matters which some considerable time later he was found to have dealt with properly. Whatever passion members of this House might have in pursuing what they believe to be great wrongs, I think we would all do well to reflect that righting the wrongs done to some by doing wrong to others is not what justice is about.
I do not believe the floor of this House is where the rights and wrongs of particular allegations can be settled. That is why our obligation as legislators is to ensure that we have in place appropriate arrangements to deal with these difficult and complex matters.
So, we now have fundamentally revised legislative arrangements in relation to protected disclosures where any member of An Garda Síochána can report these matters to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. We have increased the powers of GSOC.
If it is shown that the processes in place are not adequate to deal with particular cases which arise or have arisen, I am quite prepared to look at whatever other measures I might properly take to address any concerns. And if people have suggestions for how overall procedures might be improved then I am prepared to examine them. What I cannot do is to seek to set aside the procedures we have enshrined in law to deal with these matters. Deputies should appreciate that while certain procedures are ongoing I am simply not in a position to respond on the floor of this House to particular details which they see fit to disclose about what are, after all, protected disclosures where there is a solemn obligation on me to respect people's right to confidentiality.
I talked yesterday about the sensitivities that arise around whistleblowing, the need to protect persons making allegations, but also to respect the rights of those against whom the allegations have been made. This balance is the same balance that sits at the heart of our justice system. We cannot wish it away, and nor should we.
I also talked about the need for cultural change. In some ways that is even more important than having robust procedures in place. Ultimately, any organisation is no more or less than its people – their attitudes, their behaviour, the way they treat others. There will be occasions when whistleblowers are found to be right, and occasions when they are found to be wrong – and indeed we can see both examples in the findings of the O’Higgins Report – but the key thing is that they are protected and treated with respect. That element takes cultural change as well as changes in policy and law.
Conclusion
I appreciate that I am out of time and I regret that I could not respond to more of the points that have been made. I can assure the House that my focus now is on the failings that were identified in relation to victims, and the treatment of whistleblowers, and of ensuring that the improvements we need to see in An Garda Síochána are carried through.