Morris report - Gardaí must not be above the law
In what must be one of the darkest days in the history of the force, a superintendent and a detective garda are not only accused of orchestrating the planting of ammunition and hoax explosives in Co Donegal but also of lying to the inquiry.
On a broader canvas, the report portrays a breathtaking culture of cover-ups, gross negligence and an appalling lack of management accountability.
Its devastating findings go to the very heart of a system where the normal checks and balances of management no longer existed, a system riddled with bad practices and so rotten it needed a tribunal to bring the truth into the open.
In an alarming development, the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to prosecute Superintendent Kevin Lennon and Detective Garda Noel McMahon. This is despite the damning conclusions of Justice Frederick Morris on the explosives aspect of the ongoing inquiry.
In keeping with the separation of powers and the independence of the DPP, the office holder is not required to explain why the State will not institute proceedings against the gardaí in question. But surely in a case where gardaí were behind the “setting up” of arms finds to advance their careers, the public has a right to know why they are not to be prosecuted.
To his credit, Justice Minister Michael McDowell has left no room for doubt on the Government’s position, describing the findings as extremely serious, unprecedented and very frightening.
While the vast majority of gardaí uphold the law, the report illustrates how a few rotten apples can infect the barrel.
People will welcome Mr McDowell’s assurance that the deterioration in discipline within the Garda Síochána will be addressed as a matter of urgency. In all, 17 members of the force were found to have been involved in gross dereliction of duty or lack of candour.
In the absence of any prosecution, the Cabinet will now decide on Supt Lennon’s fate while the Garda Commissioner will decide on Det Garda McMahon’s future.
Most gardaí take their role as law enforcers seriously and will feel dismayed, angry and badly let down by the blatant contempt for the system evident in the behaviour of their disgraced colleagues.
Not only is the Morris report a powerful vindication of the much criticised tribunal system, its implications go far beyond the manifest corruption of elements of the force in Co Donegal in the mid-1990s.
These findings reach into every garda station and every division in the country. As Justice Morris makes clear, the combination of corruption and negligence which characterised the Donegal debacle could easily happen again elsewhere.
The garda authorities should move swiftly to ensure that foolproof control systems are put in place to rule out this possibility.
If they are to retain the trust and confidence of the public, gardaí at every level must face up to the gravity of the Morris report and redouble their efforts to root out corruption within the force. Despite the DPP’s perplexing decision, gardaí involved in criminal activities must be brought to justice.
Worse has yet to come from other modules of the tribunal, including allegations of garda persecution against the McBrearty family who, astonishingly, were refused legal aid despite being prime witnesses.
Justice Morris has shown that once the kind of behaviour seen in Donegal takes hold, gardaí can feel they are above the law. That must never be allowed to happen again.
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