This matter has come to my attention with the publication recently of the annual report for 2001 of the Garda Complaints Board. The report expresses utmost concern that there was much delay in the installation of equipment and cameras in cells and interview rooms in Garda stations. In 1979 the Barra Ó Briain report into the detention of suspects in Garda custody was published. It was initiated in 1977 after the allegations about the heavy gang activities in the mid-1970s. It recommended that all interrogations and interviews should be recorded on video and tape.
Twenty-three years later the Garda Complaints Board is expressing concern about the slow progress in this matter. Clearly the absence of such equipment hampers the work of the Garda Complaints Board. There have been many complaints in recent days about that body because nearly all its investigations tend to run into the sand. The reason partly is that conflicting statements are made and there is no evidence in the case of interviews taking place in Garda custody to verify statements. This equipment would be a protection for gardaí and suspects. Video and tape evidence could be used in the event of a complaint or a court case.
The previous Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform said that he had no intention of introducing the equipment in all Garda stations. In a report in The Irish Times on 14 November a Garda spokesperson said that the Department was in ongoing talks with the Garda authorities on the widespread installation of cameras in the reception and cell areas of Garda stations. The spokesperson was unable to say when a concerted installation process might begin. Only a handful of stations have the equipment installed. In some stations the equipment is available but the cameras are not. An effort is not being made and the discussions which are ongoing between the Department and the Garda leave something to be desired.
I ask the Minister of State to make a proactive statement tonight as to when the Department and the Garda authorities will finish these discussions and when equipment will be installed. The efforts of the Garda Complaints Board are largely in vain on this matter and it makes it more difficult for it to unravel the validity or otherwise of complaints. It is about time this matter was put to rest.
