Seanad report: Shane Ross (Ind) said there was a need to find out whether there was a kind of ingrained disease within the Garda Síochána which needed to be rooted out, or whether there were only "bad apples" in the force.
Supporting calls for a debate on the latest Morris tribunal report, he said that they, as politicians, had been for so long happy, because it was convenient, to dismiss the difficulties, the brutalities and the wrongdoings of some Garda members as the actions of bad apples in a good force. The question that now had to be answered was how many wrong-doers had to be rooted out and how systemic were the kind of problems uncovered by the tribunal. It was convenient to take the view that this happened only in a kind of "independent republic" in Donegal. "I doubt if that's the case. I for one am certainly beginning to be convinced that there is a larger problem which should be investigated, and that problem, as Senator [ Brian] Hayes quite rightly says, is actually undermining the large majority of gardaí who do a superb job."
Brian Hayes, Fine Gael leader in the House, called for international scrutiny of the force, which, he said, could benefit from the expertise of people from other police services.
Terry Leyden (FF) said there were around 12,000 Garda members, 226 members of the Oireachtas, about 3,000 priests and something like 26 bishops. "Let those without sin amongst us throw the first stone".
Brendan Ryan (Lab) said that the best solution to the problems confronting the Garda was to have an ombudsman with the same powers and independence as those enjoyed by the holder of the office in Northern Ireland.
John Dardis (PD), deputy Government leader in the House, said that while there were issues of governance and other matters concerning the force that needed to be addressed, he believed that the vast majority of Irish people had confidence in their police force.
Michael Finucane (FG) said that an injustice would be done if the issue of the McBrearty family's legal costs was not properly addressed.
David Norris (Ind) said the Morris tribunal report raised a lot of questions. Apparently, people who had lied to the tribunal were going to be allowed to remain in place.
Pascal Mooney (FF) said there must be no delay in ensuring that the McBreartys received the compensation that they were due.
The leader of the House, Mary O'Rourke, said she agreed that the provision here of an ombudsman along the lines of the Northern Ireland model appeared to be the correct procedure. The McBreartys had suffered a huge miscarriage of justice.