THE APPOINTMENT of Brian McCarthy, former secretary general to the President, to take charge of a confidential reporting system within the Garda Síochána is a welcome development.
It represents one of the final pieces of a wide-ranging agenda of reform which became necessary following investigations by the Morris tribunal into Garda corruption and indiscipline in Co Donegal. The new arrangements must be seen to work effectively.
Confidence in the Garda Síochána has been battered by what happened in Donegal 12 years ago. Four years of painstaking work by the Morris tribunal, following three inconclusive internal Garda investigations, exposed corrupt behaviour, the fabrication of evidence, the planting of explosives and a generalised breakdown of discipline. The tribunal concluded that insubordination and the abuse of power was widespread. But it praised the integrity and courage of a number of officers who had refused to become embroiled in this criminality.
Since then, the Government has passed legislation making it a punishable offence where a garda refuses to account for his actions while on duty or fails to answer questions fully and truthfully to an official investigation. A Garda Inspectorate has been appointed to monitor performance within the force and to promote best practice. A Garda Ombudsman Commission has been established to investigate complaints from members of the public and any fatal incidents involving a member of the force. And a new "whistleblowers unit" headed by Mr McCarthy will receive complaints concerning corruption and malpractice from within the organisation on a confidential basis. It will pass these on for investigation to the Garda Commissioner and liaise with the Garda Ombudsman Commission. Only in exceptional circumstances will names be disclosed. And any attempt to intimidate or bully those honest individuals will be a matter for disciplinary action.
These are progressive developments. They will go a long way towards reassuring members of the public that the Government and the Garda Commissioner are determined to set new standards of integrity and discipline within the organisation. But, as always, the test of the pudding will be in the eating. Indiscipline and corruption took root through an insidious culture that set serving gardaí against senior officers and where primary allegiance was owed to colleagues rather than to the rule of law. It will take time to eliminate those attitudes, along with the untenable notion that the Garda Síochána is only a service industry rather than an elite agency entrusted with special powers.
It has taken too long to reach this point. For years, the situation in Donegal and elsewhere was allowed to fester, until the work of the Morris tribunal demanded reform. A Charter for Confidential Reporting, under which Mr McCarthy will operate, was due to have been agreed within the organisation early last year. Inevitably, there was delay. Political and administrative backing must now be provided for the new system so that the reputation of the Garda Síochána can be protected by its principled membership.