Speedy amendments to Garda Bill undemocratic

Substantial changes to the Garda Bill were rushed through the Dáil over the course of only two days causing widespread criticism among opposition parties, human rights bodies and legal academics writes Hilary Curley

The speed at which substantial amendments to the Garda Bill were rushed through the Dáil has drawn criticism from human rights bodies, opposition parties and law academics. The amendments allow for dismissal in the Garda force, the carte blanche access to Garda information by the Minister for Justice, the installation of CCTV cameras, the obligation on Guards to account for their movements while on duty, the establishment of a professional standards unit and provision to allow members of the force to report corruption or malpractice.

A total of 138 amendments were brought to the attention of the Dáil over a two day period on 23 and 24 June and caused consternation among opposition parties because time was not afforded to debate them in detail. None of the amendments proposed by the Department of Justice were debated. They are all now included in the Bill that was passed by the Dáil on 24 June.

"The way the amendments to this Bill have been rushed through is diabolical and totally undemocratic," said Dermot Walsh, Professor of Law at the University of Limerick. "It is typical of this Government's attitude to democracy, which is essentially, 'We know best, we know what is good for you'. I would go as far as to say that the process is illegitimate."

The amendments causing most concern include the unlimited access to information held by the Garda Síochána by the Minister and the provision that allows for the dismissal of a member of the force.

"The minister is totally over-reacting to criticisms in the Barron report which stated that the minister and his officials were not fully informed about the investigation by the gardaí into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings," said Joe Costello, Labour Party spokesperson on Justice. "While this was an issue, the sledge hammer approach of allowing the Minister access to all garda documents, means that proper procedures or safeguards are not put in place to protect against abuse. The track records of previous justice ministers should give everyone cause for concern in this regard."

Disquiet has also been expressed about the dismissal of gardaí below the rank of inspector by the Garda Commissioner if he believes that their conduct undermines public confidence in the force.

"The Garda Commissioner becomes judge, jury, prosecutor and executioner without adequate safeguards being extended to the member of the force in question," said Jim O'Keeffe, Fine Gael spokesperson on justice. "A member should be held to account but is it constitutional that some one who has served 20 years in the force can be dismissed without due process?"

Increased powers and a greater involvement in Garda affairs by the Minsiter for Justice is the thread that runs through the Garda Bill. The Human Rights Commission criticised this approach in the past and argued for an independent police authority. A similar proposal was made by the Labour Party.

"The minister has confused political oversight with political control and it is worrying that the Bill strengthens the relationship between the commission, the Minister and the Government rather than having an independent authority without the perception of political interference," said Donnacha O'Connaill, law lecturer in NUI, Galway.

Other substantial amendments are included as a result of the Morris Report. They require Guards to account for his or her movements on duty when directed to do so. Regulations will also be developed that will allow a member of the Guards to report instances of corruption or malpractice within the force. Finally, a professional standards unit will be established by the Garda Commissioner to examine and review the operational, administrative and management performance of the Garda Síochána and this will be headed by a member of the force.

"The Minister rushed through amendments because he said that the system was in need of quick reform but this is absolute nonsense," said Donnacha O'Conaill. "The Minister has been sitting on this for the past two years and the excuse that he wanted to deal with the Morris report doesn't stand up. Because Morris made all these recommendations in the first report which the Dáil never debated because of political inertia about tackling systemic institutional corruption."

One of the key objectives of the Garda Bill is to restore public confidence in the gardaí. At the heart of the Garda Bill is the Ombudsman Commission, a committee that will be set up to deal with complaints about the gardaí. This will be a three-person committee and a subsequent amendment to the Bill provides for a Chairperson of the Commission.

The provision for an Ombudsman Commission has drawn repeated criticism from all sides. Opting for a committee rather than a one person office, similar to what is practiced in Northern Ireland through Nuala O'Loan, is central to the problem. Operating through a committee means that no one person can stand up and take responsibility for the decisions made.

"Members of the public need to be able to identify with someone," said O'Conaill. "Appointing a chairperson is not going to address this problem because it is still a committee. The Government is going to appoint members of the commission when in fact they should be independent."

The resources to be afforded to the Commission have been criticised by Joe Costello. The Office of the Northern Ireland Ombudsman have five times the amount of personnel and 15 times the funding compared to what will be budgeted for the Commission in the Republic.

The Bill allows staff from the existing Garda complaints board to be transferred to the commission and also allows the secondments of Gardaí to positions within the commission. In effect, it is the Garda complaints board with a different name and nothing will change, according to Dermot Walsh.

The rushed nature of the Garda Bill may also have implications for the Criminal Justice Bill (currently going through the Dáil) that have not being realised. This Bill provides for the increase in the powers of the Gardaí through, for example, extending detention times in custody and a more liberal sourcing of search warrants. The counter balance for this extension of powers should be provided through the Garda Bill with built-in safeguards. But the speed with which it was pushed through means that these safeguards have neither been debated nor provided for.

"The shooting dead of those two men in Lusk recently raises important questions about the use of lethal weapons, for example," said Dermot Walsh.

"Does anyone know what the standards are for governing their use? You would expect something like this to be regulated or provided for in the Garda Bill and yet it is not.

"The Criminal Justice Bill is reactionary and excessive, responding to the hysteria that has been whipped up about crime by certain sections of the media. Yet the Garda Bill has failed to counteract the increased powers of the Gardaí."