FG says Garda must get non-lethal weapons

The Garda must be equipped with non-lethal weapons "as a matter of urgency" following the publication of the Barr tribunal report into the fatal shooting of John Carthy, Fine Gael has said.

Responding to the report published this morning, Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said it was clear the Garda made "many mistakes" on the day of the shooting and that procedures were not followed.

"The shooting dead of John Carthy six years ago provided the Government with an opportunity to examine the status of Garda firearms training," he said.

"Given that a third of the force, or 3,631 gardaí as of December 31st 2005, have firearms certificates, it is crucial that firearms training is of the highest standard.

"Yet there is no evidence that the Minister is in any way committed to improving the system. Instead, his Government has presided over the downgrading of the Garda firearms training system. How can we expect gardaí to follow procedures when proper training is not being provided, and when training facilities are out-of-date and inappropriate?"

Mr O'Keeffe said the only Garda indoor firing range was closed in 2005 after a ricochet was detected, and that the only tactical training range in Templemore had been demolished.

Gardaí were forced to use Defence Forces firing ranges which were "not appropriate to their needs". Training weapons were also out of date and inappropriate, he claimed.

"The Government has also done almost nothing to introduce non-lethal weapons for the Gardaí, which could have brought about a dramatically different outcome in the Abbeylara siege. When I raised this with the Minister earlier this month, he stated that even now, there are currently no units using any type of repellent or incapacitant sprays within the Garda Síochána."

Labour Party justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said the Barr report contained "major lessons" for the Garda, the Government and the Oireachtas, specifically relating to how the Garda operates in crisis situations, how firearm legislation requires review, and the manner in which open-ended public inquiries are conducted.

"For the gardaí, there are clear lessons for the future. The tragic events at Abbeylara that led to the death of John Carthy could not have been predicted. But better training and preparedness for crisis situations, including how to deal with those suffering from psychiatric conditions, may have resulted in a different outcome to the siege."

"The report also shows that the Garda Siochana's continuing link to the management and training structures of the FBI require urgent re-examination. It was the FBI that gave the Garda an initial clean bill of health - their only criticism was that John Carthy should have been shot sooner."

"Commissioner Conroy and Minister McDowell should be asked to review this relationship," he said. Mr Howlin called for a review of firearms licensing legislation. He also said the State could not continue committing to a four-year exercise costing €18 million in every case where an issue of public importance requires examination.

"This tribunal took longer and cost significantly more than had a criminal investigation and prosecution resulted. Moreover, I remain unconvinced that the multiplicity of legal representation - such a feature of our tribunals - improves the outcome."

Sinn Féin's justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the long delay in the publication of the report from the Barr Tribunal highlighted the need for a fully independent complaints procedure under a single Garda Ombudsman.

He said the two governments that have been in power since the killing John Carthy in 2000 have both "failed to adequately deal with the fundamental problem that is the lack of accountability within the gardaí and the need for root and branch Garda reform".

"It was abundantly clear to anyone who has followed this case that negligence on the part of the gardaí was the crucial factor in the death of John Carthy. I welcome justice Minister Michael McDowell's apology on behalf of the state to the Carthy family however he must face up to and deal with the serious faults within the gardaí that lead to John Carthy's death".

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent called for the establishment of an ombudsman for An Garda Síochána.

"If there was an ombudsman in place for an Garda Siochána, as exists in Northern Ireland, it wouldn't have taken four years to produce this report," he said.

"There is a grave need to establish an independent ombudsman to ensure that families such as the Carthy family are never left to wait for so long again."

An urgent review of Garda command structures, training, policy and procedures on the use of lethal force was demanded by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.

The ICCL said the report into the events that led to the shooting dead of John Carthy at Abbeylara six years ago makes a "clear case" for human rights considerations to be included in training for gardaí who are likely to be engaged in such incidents.