Rebuilding trust in gardaí will take time, union admits

IT will take a long time to rebuild public trust in gardaí after the damning Morris Report, the county’s largest garda union admitted yesterday.

In its first official response to the Tribunal’s June 1 findings, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) warned that reform of the force should be broad-based and not just focused on discipline.

GRA general secretary PJ Stone said: “It was apparent good police practice was not followed in Donegal when this episode occurred almost a decade hence.

“A small few have sullied the name of the gardaí and there is a long process ahead of us rebuilding public trust and confidence in the gardaí that will require better leadership from all its stakeholders,” Mr Stone said.

Mr Stone reiterated the GRA’s call to set up a public policing forum.

“Irish people could articulate what they wanted in their police force and appropriate recommendations made rather than leaving it to the reactionary whims of politicians who had obfuscated for long enough,” he explained.

Mr Stone cautioned against the “public annihilation” of its 9,700 members by politicians and media commentators.

“The garda will struggle to function within the communities they serve which I’m sure is not the intended outcome anyone seeks from this process.

“The government should now make an effort genuinely to tackle the structural and resourcing problems that exist within the force, examine and deal with these and not just those relating to discipline,” he added.