Parliamentary Questions

3. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she is satisfied with the handling of the allegations made by a person (details supplied), the investigation by a person (details supplied), the actions of her predecessor as Minister and the consequences that resulted for her predecessor and the former Garda Commissioner given the findings of the final report of the Commission of Investigation (Certain Matters Relative to the Cavan/Monaghan Division of An Garda Síochána). [10529/16]

Deputy Frances Fitzgerald: This question also relates to the commission of investigation carried out by Mr. Justice Kevin O'Higgins. I thank Mr Justice O'Higgins and his team for the manner in which they fulfilled their mandate. Mr. Seán Guerin, on presenting his report to Cabinet, recommended the establishment of a commission of investigation into all of the matters addressed in his report. The Cabinet accepted Mr. Guerin's recommendations in full and asked Mr. Justice O'Higgins to investigate, as definitively as possible, the facts surrounding the matters he was asked to examine.
Inevitably, Mr. Justice O'Higgins reaches a number of conclusions about the roles played by a number of persons in the events outlined in his report. As I stated at the launch of the report, I hope all those affected can accept, as I do fully, that Mr. Justice O'Higgins looked at the facts fairly and dispassionately and made every effort to do justice to the positions of all. As I have stated previously, the central issue is that the Garda takes steps to ensure the victims of crime and those who report crimes are dealt with properly.
Some of the events investigated by Mr. Justice O’Higgins go back a decade. For my part, it is clear that the system in place until a couple of years ago for dealing with reports of wrongdoing within the Garda did not serve anyone particularly well. Deputy Howlin, in his previous role as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, introduced the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which allowed gardaí making allegations of wrongdoing in the Garda to go directly to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and enjoy protection under the new legislation. Previously, such allegations had to be dealt with in the Garda but this approach did not work and protected disclosures may now be made to GSOC.
In the past two years, the Policing Authority has also been established and the powers of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission have been strengthened. The Garda Commissioner will also announce a reform programme next week.
We should note what the O'Higgins report has to say about each of the individuals central to the establishment of the commission of investigation and the events it was tasked with investigating. I do not know if it was the impact of the Great Irish Famine that made this such an extraordinary legacy feature of Irish life during the 20th century.
We need the denial of human rights in relation to adoption tracing to be addressed now. We need not put it on the long finger. As this is the first Bill the Minister has introduced, I point out to her that the legislative programme is very long. When she gets a Bill, it will be a long time before she gets another one because there is a queue ahead of her. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan and I are very familiar with this. It is why I ask the Minister and the House to agree that we sort out this issue within the confines of the Bill rather than look for separate legislation. Given the likely three-year lifespan of this Dáil, we are unlikely ever to see it.