The first report from the Morris tribunal into the activities of the Garda Síochána in Co Donegal is a damning indictment going back 11 years. It exposes the failure of three separate Garda investigations to break down a wall of silence, collusion and cover-up within the force.
And the comment by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, that worse is to come should convince the public there is a great urgency to reform disciplinary and operational procedures.
The Garda Síochána has been reluctant to accept new structures and disciplinary mechanisms, in spite of evidence that the public has lost confidence in its complaints procedures. That issue is now being addressed before the Dáil in legislation providing for the establishment of an independent inspectorate with the power of an Ombudsman. More will have to be done. The Minister is to consult the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, before introducing change in those areas.
The former President of the High Court, Mr Justice Frederick Morris, found that a Superintendent and a detective garda orchestrated the planting of ammunition and hoax explosives in 1993/94 and subsequently lied to the tribunal about their activities. It didn't end there. The tribunal reported that 17 members of the Garda, up to senior level, were also guilty of gross negligence or unco-operative behaviour in responding to these matters. It recommended disciplinary action.
Anyone who has followed the evidence given to the Morris tribunal will be aware this is the tip of the iceberg. Discipline and effective policing procedures broke down in Co Donegal in those years. When Mr Richie Barron died in a hit-and-run accident in 1996, a member of the McBrearty family of Raphoe was charged with murder. It became the centre-piece of a sustained Garda campaign against the McBreartys which ended in 2001 when 150 summonses were dropped in the District Court. By that stage, three internal Garda inquiries into wrong-doing had run into the sand.
Mr McDowell is correct when he says there is a dangerous culture within the Garda Síochána that allows such behaviour to go unchallenged. But he seemed sanguine enough yesterday when he offered the opinion that there would be no prosecutions.
The Morris tribunal has presented its case with absolute clarity. "Regrettably, the tribunal has sat through a year of evidence and read thousands of documents and, as a result, has come to the conclusion that An Garda Síochána is losing its character as a disciplined force. This is detrimental to the morale of members who wish to serve within the context of a police force that has a proud record. It is undermining respect for authority within the force, and in relation to those who have to interact with it, on whatever basis. Members must recognise that protecting colleagues who have done wrong not only undermines the rule of law but damages the force." The implications of this finding cannot be evaded any longer.