Future of top justice official up in the air, just like Garda force

Newly appointed Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald is unlikely to go looking for a scalp in the Garda force or the Department of Justice any time soon, judging by her first few days and actions in government.

The future of Ireland’s policing force, who runs it, and how, all hang in the air.

As of yesterday, the future of the most senior justice official in the State does too.

Serious questions hang over Department of Justice secretary general Brian Purcell. Last week’s damning Guerin report found that:

- The department failed to independently assess shocking claims against gardaí by a whistleblower;

- That it did not understand the justice minister’s statutory responsibility to address the allegations;

- And there was a “near-total absence” of written advice by officials for then-minister Alan Shatter about the concerns raised about the force.

Ms Fitzgerald has ordered an “external review” of the department, effectively putting Mr Purcell on probation and withholding judgement until the summer.

A Government spokesman defended this move yesterday saying there was “an argument for doing it [external reviews] more often”. He said the new minister should be afforded time to settle into her new role and express confidence in Mr Purcell, a fact she has refused to do several times in recent days.

Moreover, Ms Fitzgerald and the Cabinet, have put off any overhaul of the force following the Guerin report.

The report was not only critical but almost cynical about the force and how gardaí themselves addressed allegations of wrongdoing by one of their own, Sgt Maurice McCabe.

He concluded the force’s internal investigative process was that complaints were put through a process of “filtration or distillation”, so that by the end any matter of concern was removed and “only good was found to remain”.

Gardaí effectively recycled negative complaints against their own, spinning them into positive reports.

So what will change now? Nothing in the short term. Any repercussions have been outsourced by Ms Fitzgerald as she grapples with a raft of legislation, reforms, and scandals on her desk.

With agreement from the Taoiseach, she has asked the Garda Inspectorate to inquire into serious crime investigation, management, operational and procedural issues in the force.

This sounds agreeable.

However, the Garda Inspectorate’s office pointed out it had already carried out several reports and made recommendations in most of these area.

Reports on these areas are up to eight years old. These include Policing in Ireland — Looking Forward (2007) and its 2006 report on senior management structures in the gardaí.

However, another review is wanted. This and the review of the department will no doubt feed into the Government’s long-term plans for an independent Garda authority.

Ms Fitzgerald’s cautious approach is welcome. But it may be sometime before real changes are made to policing and Department of Justice practices in the State.