Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2004
7 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if Garda resources were used to deliver a personal invitation to a person to a dinner hosted by a Minister (details supplied); his views on whether this is an appropriate use of Garda resources; if regulations exist to cover such requests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20688/04]
View answerWhile I have no personal knowledge of the matter raised by the Deputy, I am aware of a newspaper report on it which dates back some weeks. My understanding from that newspaper report is that a member of the Garda Síochána, as a courtesy, facilitated the delivery of an invitation to a person to an official EU function.
The background, as I understand it, is that the office of the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, was sending out invitations to a State function in connection with the EU Presidency. There was to be security on the occasion and persons without a written invitation were not to be granted entry to the occasion. One late invitee, as I understand it — there may have been more — required an invitation and a member of the Garda Síochána agreed, as a courtesy to one of the Minister of State's officials, to effect delivery of that invitation which was necessary for the person to get past Garda security at the State function.
I have discussed the matter with the Commissioner and I am quite satisfied it has no element of abuse of power or authority or was in any sense a dishonest appropriation of Garda time. It was members of the Garda Síochána acting the way they often do — beyond the call of duty — as a courtesy to the other arms of the State. Just as a garda who is called to a house and asked to get a cat out of a tree could say it is none of his or her business and that he or she does not want to help, members of the Garda Síochána frequently go the extra mile and try to be of assistance on occasions like this. I do not believe it should be the subject of negative publicity when they do so.
As I understand it, two gardaí and a Garda car were used to deliver that European Union invitation, which appears a little excessive and more than normal courtesy.
A high-risk invitation.
This is not the only instance in which there have been suggestions and allegations of misuse of Garda time, drivers and cars. As the gardaí are the Minister's responsibility, will he not consider introducing a code of conduct for Ministers in the first instance and ministerial drivers to ensure that neither the gardaí nor the Garda cars are used other than for the purpose for which they were intended? We are not talking about courtesy but substantial diversions of Garda time and cars for issues that might not be appropriate.
I strongly reject the suggestion that this had anything to do with the use of a ministerial car. As I have explained, this was an occasion when it was necessary for anybody attending the event in question to have an invitation in their possession in order to pass a Garda cordon. One member of the Garda Síochána agreed, as a courtesy to the Minister's officials, to deliver the invitation. Deputy Costello is right. The member of the Garda Síochána could have said it was none of his or her business and told the officials to deliver it themselves, but on this occasion the garda engaged in a small kindness to the people organising this official event and it is churlish and mean-minded to suggest that there was something improper with it or that it was wrong and a waste of time. If there were two people in the Garda car at the time, so what? Would the Deputy have wanted one of them to get out of the Garda car while the other did that small favour? This is mean-minded politics at its worst.
Was the security necessary because of the bad election results?
I wonder whether security was required to deliver the invitation. The Minister may not recall but I have asked questions on this subject previously and received replies which were in the negative, that is, that nothing happened. I accept this was probably done for the most innocent of reasons but I have no doubt that if the Minister were on this side of the House asking questions about this matter, it would be a major event. He would ask whether this was the best use of——
As the Deputy is rapidly running out of time, I suggest he submit his own question rather than surmise what the Minister might ask.
One cannot always anticipate a Minister's thinking.
As the Deputy is running out of time, I ask him to put his question.
Will the Minister confirm for the House that this is an isolated incident which will not be repeated and that it will not become the norm for gardaí or any branch of the Defence Forces to use their time in a way to facilitate social functions organised by Ministers? It is a serious matter.
I do not accept that it is a serious matter.
It is a serious matter.
As far as I am concerned, this matter is one in which a garda, as a matter of personal courtesy and kindness, facilitated the delivery of an invitation to a person who needed to get past a Garda security cordon around a State event. There is nothing more or less to it than that. I have no doubt that I could be as mean-minded when I was on the Opposition benches——
I have no doubt either. That is some admission.
——as Deputy Burton was in tabling this question, but I hope I would aspire to slightly more decent standards. If this was an egregious abuse of gardaí or if the gardaí involved felt in any way that they had been put upon, that would be a different matter, but that is not the case.
Has the Minister checked out the matter?
I spoke to the Commissioner today about this matter and told him this question was coming up. As far as he is concerned, and I agree with him, there was nothing untoward about it. It was a personal act of kindness on a particular occasion because of a unique set of circumstances in connection with an official function of the State.
The next time invitations are being sent out, will the Minister send one to my house?
I am glad the Minister has spoken to the Commissioner about the matter. He did not indicate that he impressed upon the Commissioner that something like this should never happen again. Why should any Minister or Minister of State expect a garda to deliver an invitation? The garda will do it out of courtesy but he or she should not be asked. Why was an ordinary citizen not asked to do the job instead of two gardaí using a garda car?
This is a mean-minded question. The incident in question was blown out of all proportion. The press report on this incident which give rise to this question indicated that the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon was wholly unaware that a request had been made of the Garda Síochána to do this and that it was an official who had made it.
The proprietorial mentality is what concerns us.
Poor Deputy Parlon. He is an innocent abroad.
