The former Minister for Justice and Equality, the former Garda Commissioner and former Secretary General are gone, but little else seems to have changed. The old guard is still in place. Complaints of Garda misbehaviour continue to flood into our offices. The Taoiseach has talked a lot about political reform in the Garda area and made a lot of promises, but we have not seen much action.

The Taoiseach talks about strengthening the Garda Síochana Ombudsman Commission. The organisation is still seriously underfunded. It still bears all the hallmarks of an organisation that was designed to fail. The Taoiseach talked about giving GSOC power to investigate the Commissioner and then the Government introduced a veto for the Minister for Justice and Equality. Why did the Taoiseach tolerate his backbencher and former Minister for Justice and Equality coming in here and rubbishing the GSOC commissioners?

The Taoiseach placed himself on the Cabinet sub-committee to oversee Garda reform so I would like to think he has a personal involvement in it at this stage. Why have the terms of reference that were promised after the Guerin report not been delivered even though the Taoiseach promised that they would come in before the summer recess?

The Government appointed seven barristers without advertising the jobs to the review mechanism. Does the Taoiseach not think that Government jobs should be advertised? Does he want to keep it in house so that it is nice and cosy and he is in control of it? With regard to the review mechanism, the families and complainants have no right to interview and no right of appeal. It does not smack of a very good system and the chances of it getting to the truth do not look great.

The Government promised that the Garda authority would be up and running in 2014. Why is it not on the Government's list of legislation for this year? The Minister for Justice and Equality said that the Garda Commissioner would not be selected until the Garda authority was in place. While I might be wrong, if the Government is to appoint the new Garda Commissioner before the police authority is in place, we will get a 100% total political appointment once again. Why has the Government not given the priority to this area that it promised?

I expect the Garda authority will be set up before the end of the year. The person who is appointed chairman will also be in a position to contribute in respect of the advertisements that have been placed for the appointment of a new Garda Commissioner. I understand Deputy Wallace was invited to Farmleigh to discuss the concept of the police authority but was unable to attend on the day. It would have been an opportunity for him to make his contribution at that point.

The barristers appointed by the Minister for Justice and Equality were to assess a range of claims and allegations which came both to my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality and were made following publicity on this issue. All of these claims, as I understand, have been sent to GSOC for analysis. I still get claims coming in from people, whom I advise to report directly to GSOC for an analysis. The budget to be presented next week will include the conclusion of the allocation of the Vote for the Department of Justice and Equality covering this issue.

Work is ongoing in regard to the terms of reference for the commission of investigation following Guerin, and will be brought before the House in due course. As I said, I expect the new authority to be set up by the end of the year. Just because the legislation is not on the A list does not mean there is not a great deal of work happening. If there are individual issues the Deputy wishes to raise, I will come back to him on them.

I am not entirely familiar with the procedures in this place, but if the Garda authority is to be in place by the end of the year, I do not understand why the relevant Bill is not on the Government's legislative programme. Unless we have an independent police authority that is free of Government control and interference and can undertake constant monitoring and oversight of how the Garda Commissioner and his or her force operate, there will not be accountability for citizens. The degree of independence and power afforded to the new authority will be a litmus test for how interested this Government really is in reform.

In regard to the political appointment of the new Garda Commissioner, I welcome the Taoiseach's indication that he will wait until the police authority is in place. Will he make public the names contained on the short list that will be presented to him by the review group that is examining the applications? Will he indicate which members of Government will be involved in the selection process and the criteria that will be used? Three people are gone from the ranks of Garda management, but the whole hierarchy is still in place and nothing has really changed on the ground. If there is to be real change, we must change that hierarchy. The notion of choosing the new Commissioner from the existing hierarchy is outrageous.

I do not disagree with the principle of what the Deputy is saying. The decision by the Government to set up an independent police authority is a radical change from what has applied since the foundation of the State. It is a change we intend to follow through, and it will be a litmus test in many ways for the independence and authority of the new body.

The advertisements have been placed for the appointment of a new Garda Commissioner. It is not just a national but an international competition and I do not have any direction over it. Those who wish to be considered for the post will apply and there will be a strict set of criteria and assessment set out for the selection of the appointee. The reason for having an independent Garda authority is to ensure there is transparency and accountability in respect of the fundamentally important entity that is the Garda Síochána. That work is proceeding, both in terms of the advertising for the appointment of a new Commissioner and the establishment of the independent police authority.

Regarding the assessment of claims and allegations, they all, as I explained, have gone from my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality to GSOC. That work is under way. The Minister for Justice and Equality is very focused on doing this right and in such a way that it will be a litmus test of how serious we are about completely changing the direction of what applied before. As I understand it, the interim Commissioner has appointed a civilian person to deal with the HR issues in the Garda Síochána, which is a first.