Independent Cllr Frank McBrearty is more than qualified to comment on what many deem to be the need for Garda reform.
Cllr Frank McBrearty
Here he argues the need for that reform and how Alan Shatter can still become a respected Justice Minister.
“The decision made by the Supreme Court this week on the right to legal advice in Garda Custody and in particular the interrogation of citizens has clearly given the Government in my opinion, no option but to implement the reforms which we were promised by previous Governments and the recommendations of the Morris Tribunal.
“These reforms are needed in order to protect the citizens of the Country from corrupt gardai . The establishment of a Police Authority which will Police the Police(Gardai) will ensure the proper oversight, checks and balances are in place which will mean that we have accountability right up to the rank of Garda Commissioner.
“The establishment of Policing Boards in every Garda District will ensure that community policing is at the heart of Policing and that Senior Garda management will be held accountable Locally. GSOC now needs to be made completely Independent with immediate effect which will ensure that our citizens have confidence that any complaints made against the force are independently investigated.
“If we look at Northern Ireland and the UK they have implemented huge changes to their Police force and what they have got, we should have. Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland and the UK have greater rights than Irish citizens living in the Rep of Ireland.
“The importance of the McBrearty Supreme Court case has never been more important now because of the issue’s that have not changed since our arrests over 17 years ago.
“I had a meeting last Monday with Minister Brendan Howlin at Government buildings and I relayed to him that it was inevitable now that the Government needed to establish a Public Inquiry.I also advised him that this Independent Judicial Public inquiry should have 3 strands. Strand 1 to investigate policing in the past. Strand 2 to investigate policing in the present and strand 3 to look at policing into the future.
“The inquiry needs to be given the powers to make findings of fact in Irish Law and not opinions which are open to legal challenge. The terms of reference cannot be restricted as was in the Morris Tribunal as senior members of the Gardai/management are not held accountable.
“So why is our Supreme Court case so important for the Citizens of the Country?, it is important because if we are successful it will protect all the rights of citizens equally which is enshrined in our Constitution, but sadly not adhered to by the state.
“The example of this can be seen in the Morris Tribunal where we the victims were expected to fund legal representations on a daily basis which ordinary citizens can not afford, you will see from the Morris Tribunal that the state and its agencies were fully funded on a daily basis.
“The word that is often used in our courts is Natural justice, where is the Natural Justice for ordinary citizens. The scales of Justice are supposed to be evenly balanced, this isn’t the case in our Justice system at present. Our Supreme Court case is not about trawling over what happened to us or any of the problems we endured in our fight for Justice as we have cleared our names.
“This case is fundamental to ensuring that all citizens have their constitutional rights protected especially in Government established inquiries. I was a guest speaker on Thursday at the Rally in Mullingar to support Sgt Maurice McCabe and I was delighted that people had the courage to stand outside a Garda Station in support of a member of An Garda Siochana, who has had the courage to stand up to the culture of corruption that exists in our force.
“I commend Sgt McCabe and the 300 + members of the public that were there to support him. This would not have happened 17 years ago and the anger that is in the country presently wont go away until we get the reform we are entitled to as Irish citizens.
“I hope that certain sections of the media now understand why our Supreme Court case is so important, the rights of our citizens have to be protected from the abuse of powers the state sometimes inflicts on ordinary people. “A threat to Justice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere”.
“The Minister should now have the courage to begin the reform and if he does, we might have a Justice Minister that could be respected but if he doesn’t then Alan Shatter will be remembered as others were as, in my opinion – Ministers for Injustice”.
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