The findings of the Morris tribunal have left members of the Garda Síochána feeling isolated and demoralised, according to PJ Stone, of the Garda Representative Association.
The recent publication of the findings of the third, fourth and fifth reports of the Morris tribunal relating to Garda malpractice in the Donegal division is extremely hurtful to all members of an Garda Síochána.
It is distressing for any member of the force to read the words of Justice Frederick Morris in which he states that the tribunal was "staggered by the amount of indiscipline and insubordination within the Garda force."
However, after the vitriol and almost apocalyptic rhetoric which was been heard in the days since the the publication of these reports in certain sections of the media relating to the state of an Garda Síochána, it is time for some objective thinking and some objective comment.
I would like to make clear at the very outset, that while the tribunal has attempted to discover the "truth" of what happened in the Donegal Division, it can ultimately only report on what "probably" happened; it is the delicate balancing of these probabilities that comprises the conclusions; not absolute fact.
The modules of the tribunal which we have seen so far have sadly not surprised anybody in terms of how they deal with issues relating to certain areas of Donegal. It is accepted that certain issues and certain approaches to policing in the area were far from the norm.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) represents those members of the force who are on the front line of Irish policing. We represent the approximate 10,000 gardaí who face the tribulations of Irish society whilst starved of numbers, resources and the leadership which they need and deserve.
They continue to do much remarkable and positive work in difficult circumstances which goes largely unnoticed, and the findings of the Morris tribunal affect these dedicated officers deeply.
One of the things that hurts the force so deeply, particularly those of garda rank, is that these events under tribunal scrutiny occurred 10 years ago and we are all still suffering from the fallout of these regrettable events.
It is certainly the view of the GRA that these issues should have been dealt with in a more forthright and forceful way by Garda management at all levels and at a far earlier stage.
The GRA are not afraid of admitting that mistakes, serious mistakes, have been made by those of Garda rank and these incidents are very regrettable. However, one of the issues that seems to be absent from the reports to date is any cohesive appropriation of blame to Garda management, with the exception of limited action taken after the release of the first report two years ago.
Indeed, in the latest report, a superintendent was absolved from blame because he was acting under the direction of a sergeant, while no such protection was afforded to those of garda rank.
It is the view of our members that we are burdened with the majority of responsibility for wrongdoing and shoulder more than our fair share of the blame, while the hard questions which need to be asked are not asked of those at senior command level. The entire organisation must accept collective responsibility for what has happened and we must all work together to ensure that these events never again occur.
Tonight, our members are on the streets doing their jobs. As they always are, frequently running a gauntlet of threats, abuse and belittlement. In the wake of these tribunal reports, our members feel even more isolated and demoralised.
The staff associations are in a similar situation, lambasted by sections of the media for representing the legitimate concerns of their members. It is grossly unfair, for instance, that we should be branded as being an obstacle to change within the force when we have always sought to participate and engage in any fora which serves the rights of our members.
Cases which we have taken on behalf of our members are legitimate cases due to unfair treatment of those of garda rank. We cannot and should not be condemned for that.
I have consistently asked that our members have access to the Labour Courts and the Labour Relations Commission to pursue our grievances, like any other citizen of this State. These would give us a forum to address some of the issues which have to be currently investigated by judicial review, which I believe is inappropriate.
We also regret the fact that the Minister for Justice chose to publish the Draft Disciplinary Regulations for the force on the same day as the latest tribunal findings. This is particularly regrettable because we are currently engaged in the conciliation process with the Department of Justice and Garda management.
The conciliation council is the only industrial relations outlet open to our members and we would have hoped, indeed expected, that the Minister would have presented these regulations to us via the conciliation process before making them public as he did last Thursday.
In the wake of the latest findings of the Morris tribunal, the Government has been quick to talk of granting new powers to the Garda Commissioner to implement summary dismissals.
Some media columnists have also been quick in surmising that this is due to the legal challenges mounted by this association. This is utterly untrue.
The GRA firmly rejects the notion that it is a monolithic organisation which is opposed to change. Not in the slightest. On the contrary, we have always been eager to be part on any process which will improve the standard of policing for the Irish public, which they deserve.
Contrary to recent reports, I do not believe that the majority of the Irish public are totally disillusioned with an Garda Síochána as an organisation. The most recent public satisfaction survey indicates 83 per cent satisfaction.
The GRA have never been afraid of soliciting the opinions of the general public in relation to Irish policing. We are the only organisation who have carried out independent research into the issue of the proposed Garda Reserve.
We have also advocated a public policing forum so the Irish people could actively engage in the evolution and provision of their policing needs.
This has never been done. In addition, we have long called for an optimum number survey to independently analyse and calculate the exact number of gardaí required to police this nation in the best possible fashion.
To date, this commonsense initiative has still not occurred.
In the wake of the Morris findings, the clarion call for independent investigation of the force has once again been heard.
We would like to add our voice to these calls. We support an independent body to carry out investigations of an Garda Síochána.
However, the body which is planned to undertake these investigations, the Garda Ombudsman Commission, must be completely independent.
We also look forward to working with the new Garda Inspectorate and the work it is charged with undertaking. We anticipate participating actively with them as we believe that disciplinary reform within an Garda Síochána must take place within properly applied disciplinary frameworks within the force.
Our members do an increasingly difficult and dangerous job, one which is not helped by scant resources and personnel. We need and deserve stronger leadership to drive the force forward for the good of our members and more importantly, for the good of the people.
We must banish the misplaced notion that the events which occurred in Donegal are common elsewhere in the country. This is not true and we deny it strongly.
The Morris tribunal was established to fully investigate the behaviour of certain gardaí in the Donegal Division in the mid to late 1990s. There was no evidence presented on any allegations of wrongdoing outside of this frame of reference and yet the findings are generalised across the entire organisation.
Indeed, they have been used to make recommendations that relate to industrial relations issues and the way that future members of the force perceive their vocation.
The tribunal has crossed over into the political and industrial - far outside a report into the behaviour of a (relatively small) number of named individuals in the Donegal Division.
We need Garda leadership which will embrace the principles of policing as opposed to the current obsession with budgetary concerns and rank advancement.
We need honest leadership, from Garda management and Government, which recognises achievement and disciplines malpractice and we need it done in a fair and transparent manner.
As an association, once again, the GRA would like to reiterate our deep disappointment with the findings of the Morris tribunal and our determination to work constructively with any positive reform of the force.
However, we would like to say that the findings of the tribunal and the allegations against persons contained therein do not represent convictions.
In all cases, proper procedure must be followed. While we are eager to engage in constructive and necessary reform within the force, we also caution against convicting those on the basis of probability as has been surmised in the wake of the latest findings. This is an unprecedented and dangerous road to take.
PJ Stone is general secretary of the Garda Representative Association