Time ripe to radically reform gardaí

NOT surprisingly, the overwhelming reaction of the public at large to the second Morris report on the nefarious activities of the gardaí in Donegal has been one of deep shock.

Understandably, frustration is mounting in the face of Government inactivity and the failure to implement the recommendations made in the first report issued by Mr Justice Frederick Morris a year ago.

In particular, Justice Minister Michael McDowell has come in for criticism, and rightly so.

As a reforming minister who promised much, he is a disappointment. Articulate to the point of being glib, he talks the talk, as the saying goes, but has not walked the walk. Above all, he has singularly failed to act on the Morris call for reform of the gardaí.

The report goes to the heart of a deep-seated malaise and its implications reach far beyond the boundaries of Donegal. Unfortunately, the majority of gardaí,

honourable men and women who uphold law and order, are tarnished by the web of lying, deceit, negligence, and downright incompetence exposed by Justice Morris.

One might expect criminals to lie and obfuscate but surely not the gardaí. Who could have expected them to systematically and deliberately frame Frank McBrearty Jr and his friend Mark McConnell for a murder they did not commit?

From senior officers to rank-and-file gardaí, the sheer scale of the conspiracy is truly mind-boggling. Yet some of the gardaí caught up in this maze of duplicity are still working in the force. How can Mr McDowell justify that?

How could Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy approve the findings of an internal investigation which is now seen for what it was a blatant whitewash?

It is absolutely scandalous that members of the force feel they can refuse to account for their activities while on duty. Is it any wonder the judge found there was no proper sense of loyalty between senior management and other gardaí?

As Finance Minister Brian Cowen admits, substantial reforms are urgently needed. Nothing short of a root-and-branch reform of the force will suffice.

But the response must go far beyond the implications for individual members. As Labour leader Pat Rabbitte says, this issue goes far beyond the disciplining of a few gardaí. It goes to the heart an organisation where accountability is patently lacking.

For the second time in a week, the Government is seen as having turned a blind eye to warnings of malpractice. For years, it also ignored evidence that elderly people were being abused in nursing homes up and down the country.

As Attorney General, Mr McDowell stubbornly resisted setting up a tribunal to investigate garda activities in Donegal. Hopefully, he will learn the lesson of the Morris report and create an independent Northern-style police ombudsman with sharp teeth rather than the watered-down version he has in mind.

In a democracy, people look to the gardaí for security and protection against the forces of evil. The Morris report is an opportunity to radically reform the force, making it more accountable to the public, bringing greater transparency to its functions and operations and lessening the scope for corruption.