Garda Commissioner: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

The following motion was moved by Deputy Jonathan O'Brien on Wednesday, 12 April 2017:

"That Dáil Éireann:

recognises:

— that everyone is entitled to policing that serves the people, by police services that are accountable, representative of the community and held to the highest professional and ethical standards;

— the need to hold the police and criminal justice systems to account on the basis of fairness, impartiality and objectivity; and

— that public confidence in policing bodies is contingent on them, and the persons who direct their activities, being held accountable;

notes:

— the press statement made by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan in regard to the recent disclosures that 937,000 breath tests were wrongly recorded on the Police Using Leading Systems Effectively (PULSE) system;

— the 14,700 wrongful convictions of citizens due to Garda error; and

— the failure of Commissioner O'Sullivan to adequately explain the cause of this error and her failure in the statement to provide the clarity needed to restore public confidence in An Garda Síochána;

also notes:

— that the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain matters relating to disclosures made by members of An Garda Síochána under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, chaired by Mr. Justice Peter Charleton, is now under way;

— that the Tribunal has been tasked with investigating serious allegations made in a Protected Disclosure concerning the actions of Commissioner O’Sullivan; and

— the potential negative impact on public confidence in An Garda Síochána when the actions of the sitting Garda Commissioner are central to the investigations of the ongoing Tribunal;

further notes that section 11(1)(c) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 stipulates that a person who holds the office of Garda Commissioner may be removed from office, where the person's removal from office would, in the Government’s opinion, be in the best interests of An Garda Síochána; and

considers that the removal from office of Commissioner O'Sullivan would be in the best interests of An Garda Síochána."

Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“recognises that:

— the recent controversies surrounding An Garda Síochána are of the utmost seriousness and go to the heart of policing in the State;

— it is essential that the Government, this House and all our citizens can trust members of An Garda Síochána to carry out their duties fairly, impartially and in accordance with the law;

— while members of An Garda Síochána continue to perform very good work and put their lives at risk on a daily basis keeping communities safe and protecting the security of the State in the face of major challenges, including the threats from organised crime, subversion and international terrorism, deep-seated organisational problems which have not been properly addressed over a number of decades, such as those exemplified in the recent report by Mr. Justice Fennelly, must be urgently and fully addressed;

— in particular, there is understandable public concern arising from recent very serious issues about the administration by An Garda Síochána of mandatory alcohol testing and fixed charge notices;

— the most effective way of addressing issues of concern which have arisen is to ensure that the issues in relation to road traffic matters are comprehensively and independently assessed, a major programme of reform is completed as quickly as possible and there is a fundamental review of the future of policing in Ireland;

— the resolution of the serious issues facing An Garda Síochána cannot be achieved by measures which undermine the effectiveness of An Garda Síochána in protecting the community;

— robust and independent oversight of policing is essential to the delivery of policing service in the 21st century and that the Oireachtas enacted the Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act in 2015 and that the independent Policing Authority was established on 1st January, 2016;

— at the heart of the establishment of the Policing Authority was a desire, on the part of the Oireachtas, to remove politics from policing to the extent possible consistent with the Constitution of Ireland and that nothing said or done in this House should detract from the work of the Policing Authority, undermine its independence in doing that work or to politicise An Garda Síochána; and

— there is a legal framework of accountability in which public servants perform their duties and it would be a dangerous precedent for this House to target individual public servants, by way of resolution, in a departure from that framework;

notes that:

— the Policing Authority is chaired by the former Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners and that the other eight members of the Policing Authority were appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Public Appointments Service which had invited applications for membership of the Policing Authority;

— the nine members of the Policing Authority are persons who independently bring a range of valuable experience and expertise to bear on the work of the Policing Authority and that even though the Policing Authority has only been in existence for 15 months, it has in that time established itself as a robust and independent oversight body;

— the House should support the Policing Authority fully in its very important work; and

— the Policing Authority has specific statutory responsibilities, including in relation to the appointments to the higher ranks of An Garda Síochána and continuation of persons in office, the exercise of which must not be interfered with or improperly influenced in any way;

supports:

— the request made by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to the Policing Authority under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to report on recent road traffic issues and the fact that an investigation will be conducted by the Policing Authority with the assistance of external expertise which will examine all issues arising, addressing, to the greatest extent possible, the reasons why the issues have arisen, the incidence and scale of the issues and the solutions implemented to ensure there is no reoccurrence;

— the strengthening of Garda management capacity by the early appointment of three additional civilian leaders to the senior management team, Executive Director – Strategy and Transformation, Executive Director – Legal and Compliance and a Chief Information Officer;

— the completion as soon as possible by the Garda Inspectorate of an examination, at the request of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, of entry routes to An Garda Síochána from other police services and the opening up of promotion opportunities within An Garda Síochána to non-Garda personnel, whether policing professional or otherwise;

— the completion, under the oversight of the Policing Authority, of the urgent implementation of extensive reforms to the administration of, and operation of, An Garda Síochána under the Garda Síochána Modernisation and Renewal Programme, 2016-2021, incorporating recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate report ‘Changing Policing in Ireland’;

— the specific monitoring and assessing by the Policing Authority of the implementation of recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate report ‘Changing Policing in Ireland’, and the Policing Authority reporting to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality quarterly on this matter, who will publish these reports;

— the cultural audit of An Garda Síochána which will commence shortly;

— the provision of any additional resources to the Policing Authority which may be necessary to ensure it is able to carry out its work effectively, including a review of the legislation governing its operation which is due to be undertaken this year under the terms of the Garda Síochána Act 2005; and

— the intention to implement in full the recommendations made by Mr. Justice Fennelly in his recent report;

agrees that, notwithstanding the significant programme of reform that is already underway and the central role of the Policing Authority in overseeing the implementation of that programme, the time is right to undertake a ‘root and branch’ review of all aspects of policing in Ireland; and

further notes that:

— the Government agreed at its meeting on 11th April, 2017, to establish a Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and to circulate the draft terms of reference to other parties;

— the Commission’s draft terms of reference, while subject to further consultation, are intended to be comprehensive and provide for a thorough review of all aspects of policing including appropriate accountability mechanisms, with a view to resolving policing issues outside the realm of political controversy;

— the draft terms of reference will address:

— structures, leadership and management arrangements required for the most effective delivery of policing, including all functions currently carried out by An Garda Síochána – community safety, security and immigration;

— appropriate composition, recruitment and training of personnel;

— culture and ethos of policing;

— appropriate structures for oversight and accountability (including all oversight bodies, the Department of Justice and Equality and Government); and

— the legislative framework for policing;

— the draft terms of reference will take account of:

— existing and emerging issues identified as key challenges for Ireland’s model of policing;

— best practices in the policing models of other countries focused towards greater effectiveness and efficiency, and fostering public confidence in policing;

— previous reports concerning policing in Ireland; and

— any specific challenges to delivering consistent structural and cultural reform in policing;

— once this consultation process has been completed, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality will revert to Government with proposals for the establishment of the Commission and draft terms of reference; and

— the establishment of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland should not delay or detract from the implementation of the ambitious programme of reform underway which should continue unimpeded.”

- (Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality)

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I must now deal with a postponed division relating to amendment No. 1 to the motion regarding the Garda Commissioner. On Thursday, 11 April 2017, on the question that the amendment to the motion be agreed to, a division was claimed, and in accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.

Amendment put:

The Dáil divided: Tá, 57; Níl, 88; Staon, 0.

Tá

Bailey, Maria.
Barrett, Seán.
Breen, Pat.
Brophy, Colm.
Bruton, Richard.
Burke, Peter.
Byrne, Catherine.
Cannon, Ciarán.
Carey, Joe.
Collins, Michael.
Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
Coveney, Simon.
Creed, Michael.
D'Arcy, Michael.
Deasy, John.
Deering, Pat.
Doherty, Regina.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Doyle, Andrew.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Farrell, Alan.
Fitzgerald, Frances.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flanagan, Charles.
Grealish, Noel.
Griffin, Brendan.
Harris, Simon.
Harty, Michael.
Heydon, Martin.
Kehoe, Paul.
Kenny, Enda.
Kyne, Seán.
Lowry, Michael.
McEntee, Helen.
McGrath, Finian.
McGrath, Mattie.
McHugh, Joe.
McLoughlin, Tony.
Madigan, Josepha.
Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
Moran, Kevin Boxer.
Murphy, Dara.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Naughten, Denis.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Neville, Tom.
Noonan, Michael.
O'Connell, Kate.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
Phelan, John Paul.
Ring, Michael.
Rock, Noel.
Ross, Shane.
Stanton, David.
Varadkar, Leo.

Níl

Adams, Gerry.
Aylward, Bobby.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Brassil, John.
Breathnach, Declan.
Broughan, Thomas P.
Browne, James.
Buckley, Pat.
Burton, Joan.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Casey, Pat.
Cassells, Shane.
Chambers, Jack.
Chambers, Lisa.
Collins, Joan.
Collins, Niall.
Connolly, Catherine.
Coppinger, Ruth.
Cowen, Barry.
Crowe, Seán.
Cullinane, David.
Curran, John.
Daly, Clare.
Doherty, Pearse.
Donnelly, Stephen S.
Dooley, Timmy.
Ellis, Dessie.
Ferris, Martin.
Fitzmaurice, Michael.
Fleming, Sean.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Haughey, Seán.
Healy, Seamus.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kelleher, Billy.
Kelly, Alan.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McDonald, Mary Lou.
McGrath, Michael.
McGuinness, John.
MacSharry, Marc.
Martin, Catherine.
Martin, Micheál.
Mitchell, Denise.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
Murphy, Catherine.
Murphy, Eugene.
Murphy, Paul.
Nolan, Carol.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Brien, Jonathan.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Keeffe, Kevin.
O'Loughlin, Fiona.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Rourke, Frank.
O'Sullivan, Jan.
Penrose, Willie.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Ryan, Brendan.
Ryan, Eamon.
Scanlon, Eamon.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Brendan.
Smith, Bríd.
Smyth, Niamh.
Stanley, Brian.
Troy, Robert.
Wallace, Mick.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Regina Doherty and Tony McLoughlin; Níl, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Jonathan O'Brien.

Amendment declared lost.

Deputy Gino Kenny

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“notes that:

— 937,000 breath tests that never occurred were falsely recorded on the Police Using Leading Systems Effectively (PULSE) system, and that the existence of a problem in this regard was communicated to the Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan in 2014;

— there were 146,865 District Court summonses for road traffic offences wrongly issued and that as a result 14,700 people were subject to wrongful convictions due to shameful Garda error and were never informed of the error, nor received an apology directly from An Garda Síochána;

— the Garda Commissioner was notified of discrepancies in Garda breath test data by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety in 2014 but did not inform the public or the Policing Authority of these discrepancies until 23rd March, 2017;

— the Garda Commissioner has accepted that An Garda Síochána recorded numbers that were false, and believes that this falsification may not be confined to traffic data;

— the Garda Commissioner failed adequately to explain the cause of these errors;

— high-ranking members of An Garda Síochána, including the Garda Commissioner, have recently been accused of engaging in a systematic campaign to smear the character and reputation of Sergeant Maurice McCabe and other Garda whistleblowers; and

— there has been an erosion of public confidence and trust in An Garda Síochána including a lack of public confidence in the Garda Commissioner and senior Garda management to investigate possible Garda malpractice or corruption;

acknowledges that:

— An Garda Síochána should be held accountable in terms of their adherence to professional and ethical standards;

— section 11 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 states that:

— a person who holds the office of Garda Commissioner may be removed from office by the Government but only for stated reasons, including:

— the person has failed to perform the functions of the office with due diligence and effectiveness; and

— the person’s removal from office would, in the Government’s opinion, be in the best interests of An Garda Síochána;

— on notifying under section 12 (1) a person who holds the office of Garda Commissioner that the Government intends to consider removing him or her from office, the Government may immediately suspend the person from duty; and

— section 12(1)(b) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 further allows that the Government shall give the person an opportunity to make representations as to why he or she ought not to be removed from office;

further notes that Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan has stated that she plans to continue in her position even if there is a Dáil vote of no confidence in her; and

calls on the Government to:

— immediately use the powers available to them under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to notify Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan that they intend to consider removing her and to suspend her from duty while she receives an opportunity to make representations as to why she ought not to be removed from office;

— independently investigate the involvement of members of senior Garda management in malpractice, corruption and/or the harassment or smearing of whistleblowers;

— urgently review the situations in which people may be convicted for certain crimes on the word of a Garda Superintendent; and

— urgently review how An Garda Síochána can be made democratically accountable to the communities they serve, including the election of democratically accountable bodies empowered to decide on how policing is implemented, how policing resources are spent, and to hold An Garda Síochána accountable for their actions.”

Amendment put:

The Dáil divided: Tá, 36; Níl, 108; Staon, 0.

Tá

Adams, Gerry.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Broughan, Thomas P.
Buckley, Pat.
Connolly, Catherine.
Coppinger, Ruth.
Crowe, Seán.
Cullinane, David.
Daly, Clare.
Doherty, Pearse.
Ellis, Dessie.
Ferris, Martin.
Fitzmaurice, Michael.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Healy, Seamus.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
McDonald, Mary Lou.
Mitchell, Denise.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Catherine.
Murphy, Paul.
Nolan, Carol.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
O'Brien, Jonathan.
O'Reilly, Louise.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Bríd.
Stanley, Brian.
Wallace, Mick.

Níl

Aylward, Bobby.
Bailey, Maria.
Barrett, Seán.
Brassil, John.
Breathnach, Declan.
Breen, Pat.
Brophy, Colm.
Browne, James.
Bruton, Richard.
Burke, Peter.
Burton, Joan.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Catherine.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Cannon, Ciarán.
Carey, Joe.
Casey, Pat.
Cassells, Shane.
Chambers, Jack.
Chambers, Lisa.
Collins, Michael.
Collins, Niall.
Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
Coveney, Simon.
Cowen, Barry.
Creed, Michael.
Curran, John.
D'Arcy, Michael.
Deasy, John.
Deering, Pat.
Doherty, Regina.
Donnelly, Stephen S.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Dooley, Timmy.
Doyle, Andrew.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Farrell, Alan.
Fitzgerald, Frances.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flanagan, Charles.
Fleming, Sean.
Grealish, Noel.
Griffin, Brendan.
Harris, Simon.
Harty, Michael.
Haughey, Seán.
Heydon, Martin.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kehoe, Paul.
Kelleher, Billy.
Kelly, Alan.
Kenny, Enda.
Kyne, Seán.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
Lowry, Michael.
MacSharry, Marc.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McEntee, Helen.
McGrath, Finian.
McGrath, Mattie.
McGrath, Michael.
McGuinness, John.
McHugh, Joe.
McLoughlin, Tony.
Madigan, Josepha.
Martin, Catherine.
Martin, Micheál.
Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
Moran, Kevin Boxer.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
Murphy, Dara.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Murphy, Eugene.
Naughten, Denis.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Neville, Tom.
Noonan, Michael.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Connell, Kate.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
O'Keeffe, Kevin.
O'Loughlin, Fiona.
O'Rourke, Frank.
O'Sullivan, Jan.
Penrose, Willie.
Phelan, John Paul.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Ring, Michael.
Rock, Noel.
Ross, Shane.
Ryan, Brendan.
Ryan, Eamon.
Scanlon, Eamon.
Sherlock, Sean.
Smith, Brendan.
Smyth, Niamh.
Stanton, David.
Troy, Robert.
Varadkar, Leo.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Richard Boyd Barrett and Gino Kenny; Níl, Deputies Regina Doherty and Tony McLoughlin.

Amendment declared lost.

Question put: "That the motion be agreed to."

The Dáil divided: Tá, 46; Níl, 98; Staon, 0.

Tá

Adams, Gerry.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Broughan, Thomas P.
Buckley, Pat.
Burton, Joan.
Collins, Joan.
Connolly, Catherine.
Coppinger, Ruth.
Crowe, Seán.
Cullinane, David.
Daly, Clare.
Doherty, Pearse.
Ellis, Dessie.
Ferris, Martin.
Fitzmaurice, Michael.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Healy, Seamus.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kelly, Alan.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
McDonald, Mary Lou.
Martin, Catherine.
Mitchell, Denise.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Catherine.
Murphy, Paul.
Nolan, Carol.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
O'Brien, Jonathan.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Sullivan, Jan.
Penrose, Willie.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Ryan, Brendan.
Ryan, Eamon.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Bríd.
Stanley, Brian.
Wallace, Mick.

Níl

Aylward, Bobby.
Bailey, Maria.
Barrett, Seán.
Brassil, John.
Breathnach, Declan.
Breen, Pat.
Brophy, Colm.
Browne, James.
Bruton, Richard.
Burke, Peter.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Catherine.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Cannon, Ciarán.
Carey, Joe.
Casey, Pat.
Cassells, Shane.
Chambers, Jack.
Chambers, Lisa.
Collins, Michael.
Collins, Niall.
Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
Coveney, Simon.
Cowen, Barry.
Creed, Michael.
Curran, John.
D'Arcy, Michael.
Deasy, John.
Deering, Pat.
Doherty, Regina.
Donnelly, Stephen S.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Dooley, Timmy.
Doyle, Andrew.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Farrell, Alan.
Fitzgerald, Frances.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flanagan, Charles.
Fleming, Sean.
Grealish, Noel.
Griffin, Brendan.
Harris, Simon.
Harty, Michael.
Haughey, Seán.
Heydon, Martin.
Kehoe, Paul.
Kelleher, Billy.
Kenny, Enda.
Kyne, Seán.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
Lowry, Michael.
MacSharry, Marc.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McEntee, Helen.
McGrath, Finian.
McGrath, Mattie.
McGrath, Michael.
McHugh, Joe.
McLoughlin, Tony.
Madigan, Josepha.
Martin, Micheál.
Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
Moran, Kevin Boxer.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
Murphy, Dara.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Murphy, Eugene.
Naughten, Denis.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Neville, Tom.
Noonan, Michael.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Connell, Kate.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
O'Keeffe, Kevin.
O'Loughlin, Fiona.
O'Rourke, Frank.
Phelan, John Paul.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Ring, Michael.
Rock, Noel.
Ross, Shane.
Scanlon, Eamon.
Smith, Brendan.
Smyth, Niamh.
Stanton, David.
Troy, Robert.
Varadkar, Leo.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Jonathan O'Brien; Níl, Deputies Regina Doherty and Tony McLoughlin.

Question declared lost.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 13 Apr 2017