I also to want to refer to the controversy regarding penalty points, surveillance of GSOC and the treatment of the Garda whistleblowers, Sergeant McCabe and former Garda John Wilson. In referring to it, it is quite clear that Mr. Shatter does not do apologies.

It is the Minister, Deputy Shatter, thank you.

It is quite clear that an investigation into an investigation is going to continue. However, what is also very clear is that there is an aggressive reluctance by senior gardaí to accept any form of meaningful accountability over what Garda Commissioner Callinan refers to as his force. This is the nub of the matter. It is also clear that the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has backed senior gardaí in this attitude. The real problem here is that an ordinary member of the public who has a complaint against the Garda or an individual garda faces, at best, an insurmountable set of obstacles in having their complaint taken seriously and properly investigated. At worst, they find themselves the target of harassment and intimidation, wrongful arrest, vexatious charges and so on.

I refer to a particular case and I will then put a question to the Taoiseach. I am aware of the 30 cases that were put to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, in October last by Justice for All. One of those involved Dr. Richard O'Flaherty, who was a nominated doctor in the Limerick area for both the Garda and the Prison Service for 40 years. He would be called to the Garda station to treat people under arrest. He had concerns about the maltreatment of patients in the Garda station, including beatings and denial of medical attention. He raised these issues on occasion when giving evidence in court. This brought him into conflict with certain gardaí and, at present, there is a GSOC investigation into allegations made by Dr. O'Flaherty of harassment and intimidation, including a serious assault by gardaí against him personally. It took two years, 12 letters and the expense of hiring a solicitor to convince GSOC to appoint a civil investigator. When someone in this situation faces such difficulty, what hope is there for ordinary citizens?

I put it to the Taoiseach that there is a problem of culture at the top. This is an opportunity for the Taoiseach and the Government to deal with the situation. Will the Taoiseach establish an independent police authority? Such an authority would appoint a Garda Commissioner, with the Commissioner to be accountable to the authority. Will he properly resource GSOC with real powers to investigate complaints, a commitment to investigate all complaints and put an end to gardaí investigating gardaí? Will he bring proper protection for whistleblowers and, just as important, protection of citizens who exercise their right to make complaints?

It is time to deal with this decisively. Otherwise, as we have been talking about it in the past and we are talking about it in the present, we will be talking about it into the future. The fundamentals have to be changed. The Taoiseach is in a position to do it. Will he do it?

Deputy Joan Collins cannot have it both ways. For the last number of weeks, she was complaining that the Minister for Justice and Equality was impacting on GSOC, which is completely independent. Now, she is telling me that GSOC is not able to do its job. I cannot second-guess what an independent investigative authority will do in regard to any case that comes before it. It is not for the Minister for Justice and Equality, the Government or anybody else to tell it what to do. We have had GSOC in before the committee at length. Last week, the allegation was that the Government or the Minister for Justice and Equality were attempting to do down GSOC in its independence. Now, the Deputy is telling me something entirely different, namely, that it is unable to do its job. The Minister for Justice and Equality has pointed out that the resources and powers in regard to GSOC are going to be improved, because it has been there for a number of years and, clearly, there are inadequacies.

I received the letter from Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, Deputy Joan Collins, Deputy Mick Wallace and Deputy Clare Daly. They set out about Justice for All and that they handed in documents from 22 members of a group on 17 October last. They said these affidavits documented malpractice and inadequate work by gardaí. I assume these are on behalf of citizens as distinct from members of the force. The range of issues went from quite minor cases of bullying and harassment by gardaí to failure to investigate murder.

Those are serious issues.

I draw the Deputies' attention to the fact that the murder of person X, the murder of James Goonan, the murder of Shane Tuohey and the attempted murder of Dr. O'Flaherty were all mentioned during the debate on the Garda ombudsman Bill. They say that since that time, nothing has happened and they are bringing to my attention further inadequacies within the Garda ombudsman's office. They say that, as was pointed out during the debate on the Garda ombudsman Bill last July, GSOC is inadequately founded in legislation. That is why the Government asked Deputy Stanton and his committee to take public hearings, including from Deputy Joan Collins and anybody else, about the inadequacies of the legislation-----

Bring them all in.

-----and about where it is inadequately grounded in legislation. She can have free rein to go before that committee and point out where and how she considers the legislation can be strengthened.

I point out to the Deputy that the handing in of the 24 submissions to the Department by members of the delegation arose from a Private Members' Bill here in July 2013 on an amendment to the Garda Síochána Act of 2005, during which it was alleged that a number of individuals believed their complaints to GSOC had not been investigated. GSOC is an independent authority. The Minister offered to review the handling of the specific complaints with regard to individuals who believed their matters were not properly investigated or are making allegations of misconduct against members of the Garda. The 24 submissions were acknowledged upon receipt on 17 October 2013 and officials in the Department were given the task of undertaking a detailed examination of the cases to ascertain whether the individuals concerned had availed of the proper mechanisms for consideration of their case.

Some of these complaints go back a number of years, some relate to bodies other than the Garda Síochána and some covered a range of other matters. I can confirm to the Deputy that the examination of the 24 submissions took quite some time to deal with. It is now finalised and it is planned that these replies will issue to each of the 24 individuals in the very near future.

I do not know where the Taoiseach has been for the past period of time but even GSOC has said that it does not have the powers that are needed to investigate independently matters. There has been and will continue to be a culture regarding this issue unless fundamental legislation is introduced to separate the powers of the State and the powers of a body doing its job. We have seen the Fr. Niall Molloy cover up. The journalist who re-investigated it, Gemma O'Doherty, was never even asked to go to that investigation. This is another situation where the person involved has not been brought into an investigative process. Will the Taoiseach establish an independent police authority? This is what is needed. Will such an authority appoint the Garda Commissioner and will the Garda Commissioner be accountable to the authority? These fundamental questions were included in the legislation brought forward by Deputy Wallace last year and need to be addressed. This subject should be discussed.

I am not sure where the Deputy has been for the past while because GSOC is an independent entity set up for the specific purpose of dealing with complaints from members of the public against serving members of the gardaí. The Deputy is now telling me that GSOC does not have the powers to investigate the complaints that were made. That is what I understand her to be saying. That is what GSOC was set up for and that is why it is independent. The confidential recipient process will now end when the legislation is brought in with the opportunity for members of the gardaí who have complaints against serving members to go directly to GSOC.

Deputy Wallace mentioned the Boylan case. GSOC made recommendations and reports in respect of the gardaí arising from that report. Deputy Wallace also mentioned the matter of protocols which the Minister addressed last September when he instructed that new procedures in respect of some of the protocols be brought in. I say to Deputy Collins that we all want this to work very effectively. I advise her and the other Deputies to go to the Staunton committee and point out where this is inadequately founded in legislation and where they think it can be improved. That is what the public engagement process is about and that is why I expect that former Commissioner Brady will be able to go before that committee and address where the legislation is inadequate from his point of view as a former commission member. The Minister will address that. We want this to work and for GSOC to be seen to have the resources, investigative authority, the legislation to back it up and the protection for whistleblowers. We also want the Garda Síochána, which protects the public from criminal elements, to be seen to be transparent and accountable and for there to be proper oversight there so that everybody can feel comfortable and safe in that knowledge.