Minister's press conference: Members of the Garda Síochána will be required to account for their actions under tough new disciplinary rules - or else face dismissal.
The changes will be made to the Garda Síochána Bill currently before the Oireachtas, said the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
"It will be a dismissal offence to fail to account to superiors for your movements," Michael McDowell told a hastily arranged press conference to present the second report of the Morris tribunal.
"The tribunal is saying that this should be a central feature of the Garda Síochána running through the very heart of the organisation, that there is an obligation to account immediately, and not through the Garda Representative Association and not after going off to discuss it with a solicitor but immediately as a matter of discipline," he said.
In its report, the tribunal said "a new means of removing gardaí from office should be considered". Mr Justice Frederick Morris noted that officers "continue to serve, despite being the subject of severe criticism" in the tribunal's first report.
"A failure to answer, or to answer truthfully, should be regarded as a major breach of discipline inviting dismissal. This is not to trespass on the rights of a person suspected of a crime," the tribunal report said.
The Minister for Justice said "a culture had built up in Donegal that it was somehow all right to refuse to give answers and to effectively not co-operate with your superiors".
Describing this as an "attitude of insolence and lack of co-operation", Mr McDowell said the tribunal had been particularly critical of those senior officers who failed to tackle the lack of discipline.
"When you are asked to account for the execution of your duties as a member it isn't a polite request that can be considered over time with the advice of lawyers and association officers. It is something you do as a matter of duty."
A "considerable number" of gardaí, from chief superintendent rank downwards, were the "subject of trenchant criticism" in some cases in regards to their honesty and in others as to their competence and their capacity to carry out their duties in a non-negligent way.
"The nature of the criticism is such that it will require that disciplinary action is contemplated," said the Minister, who added that the majority of the force had "nothing to be ashamed of".
Describing the latest chapter of the Morris tribunal as "extremely serious, and at times shocking", the Minister said he had warned last year that the second report would be worse than the first. "I am afraid that this report bears out that fear."
He rejected the calls for an independent police authority as "illusory", saying: "There would be less direct control of the Garda Síochána, less accountability. The independent police authority would be in a far weaker position than a minister who has budgetary control and others things at this disposal to implement Government policy.
"The case for an independent police authority along the lines of Northern Ireland is simply not applicable to the South. The amount of politicking that goes with regard to that authority is quite significant. Party political lines are taken by the people on it. I don't believe that the people of Ireland want to turn management of the Garda Síochána into a political battleground between parties.
