The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality was no doubt highly impressed by the speed and efficiency with which Mr. Justice Charleton commenced the proceedings of the disclosure tribunal earlier this week. She probably hoped this would allow her to put the Garda controversies behind her but sadly that is not the case because the disclosures by Garda whistleblowers are only one aspect of the serious questions regarding An Garda Síochána. The Minister is aware of five other pending statutory inquiries into Garda negligence and malpractice. In 2002, we had the tragic death of Shane Tuohey after a night out. The Garda investigation into Mr. Tuohey's death was flawed and his family was targeted. Patrick Nugent, a 23 year old banqueting manager in Bunratty Castle, died horrifically after a function at which off duty gardaí were in attendance. The inquest into Mr. Nugent's death and internal Garda inquiries have led to further questions. Another case involves 24 year old John Kelly from Tallaght who drowned in Dublin's docklands after screaming for 30 minutes while gardaí stood back. Another case is that of James Clancy, a man in his 80s, who was killed after being dragged along a road by a truck. Documents subsequently went missing and the driver of the truck was never found. In all of these cases, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality has refused to engage with Kevin Winters, the legal counsel for those who are seeking information on the terms of reference of the inquiries and wish to ensure they are compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the meantime, the Tánaiste has engaged with the Policing Authority, which is not an alternative to including victims in the process. More important, why has the Policing Authority, which has the power to demand the convening of such inquiries, not done so? The reason is that, despite all of the Tánaiste's bleatings about dealing with reform and Garda oversight, these issues have not been addressed. Unless she addresses the question as to who is guarding the gardaí, these problems will continue.

Members of the Policing Authority were hand-picked by the Government and the authority was structured in a manner that would ensure it was subservient to government. Its first test was the appointment of new assistant commissioners, for which there were 31 applicants. On the date the Oireachtas signed off on the terms of reference for the inquiry into allegations of misconduct by the Garda Commissioner, we found out that the very same Commissioner had nominated herself to be on the selection board for the assistant commissioner positions. Nobody on the Policing Authority or in government had any problem with this decision, about which we sought information and eventually received confirmation. We then learned that the position had suddenly changed between Monday and Tuesday of this week and the Garda Commissioner would no longer be on the selection board because she was a bit busy. She had, however, appointed her loyal sidekick, Dónall Ó Cualáin, an individual who is involved in a number of these cases, to the selection board. This is an absolute joke. How, in God's name, can the Commissioner continue to influence vital decisions regarding the future of An Garda Síochána when she is under serious investigation? What is the point of a Policing Authority that can and will do nothing to exercise its independence?

I have some other brief questions for the Tánaiste.

Will the Minister, Deputy Bruton, ensure that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality will engage immediately with the legal counsel of the people in the statutory inquiries? Will he accept that the position of the Garda Commissioner is untenable and that she should be asked to step down and will he move immediately to bring in the legislative reform necessary for proper democratic oversight and accountability of An Garda Síochána?

I thank Deputy Daly for her questions. We have an inquiry in place that is looking at the most serious issues involving Garda management. I do not propose to comment on the validity or otherwise of the allegations being made. Mr. Justice Charleton has been very clear that this inquiry is not about taking sides, rather it is about getting to the truth. On completion of his work, Mr. Justice Charleton will make recommendations based on what is drawn from these specific disclosures. That is as it should be. Let the cards fall where they may when that work is done.

It is important that in the last number of years we have been moving in this House, across all parties, to turn over stones that were left unturned in this country for many years. In the Garda area, we now have a much stronger Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, whistleblowers' legislation and a Policing Authority that is independent, all of which is turning over stones. Deputy Daly is correct in that there are allegations emerging that nobody could be happy with but they are being investigated by, in one case, a tribunal and, in other cases, by a much strengthened Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. There is now whistleblowers' protection legislation to give people the protection to come forward with their concerns.

I cannot stand here as judge and jury in the case of these allegations. These are issues to be addressed, either by Mr. Justice Charleton in the tribunal or by GSOC. It is not for politicians to make those decisions. The Policing Authority has said that it will monitor the conduct of the tribunal in terms of the capacity of the Garda Commissioner to continue to do her job. It has also been very clear that the Garda Commissioner has not been found guilty of anything. She strenuously denies the allegations that are before the tribunal and she will have an opportunity in the tribunal to deal with those issues.

In regard to specific legislative changes in the future, we have to wait to see what emerges from the various investigations but the Government will act, as it has in the past, to introduce changes should they be found to be necessary. I cannot answer the Deputy's question on legal counsel because I am not briefed on the specific issues in regard to the request made to the Minister for Justice and Equality or on whether the Minister for Justice and Equality is the appropriate person from whom information would come in those cases. I will communicate with the Deputy on that question.

I will await a response from the Minister to that question.

The Minister's utterances on reform and accountability are belied by the experience on the ground. We do not have proper oversight, and that is not only my view. Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, the chairperson of GSOC, has demanded increased legislative powers supported by the justice committee precisely because we do not have proper oversight. We do not have an independent Policing Authority. A policing authority that sits still in the midst of the biggest crisis surrounding policing in our State and has no problem with the Garda Commissioner sitting on a selection board that will dictate the culture of the Force and senior appointments into the future is a big problem. The fact that we do not have these bodies is precisely why we have six inquiries going on. We will have six more, and six more again, unless the Government addresses the fundamental issue here. That could have been addressed four years ago when Deputy Wallace brought forward legislation for a proper oversight independent policing authority. What we recommended then was an independent board, greater scope around appointment of the Garda Commissioner, deputy Garda commissioner and assistant Garda commissioners, powers to remove same and a real role that would deliver proper and genuine accountability. The Government cannot keep running away. This legislation is long overdue. When are we going to see it?

To be fair, there has been a huge amount of legislation in this area, no doubt partly in response to issues that have been raised by Deputies Daly and Wallace and by others. There is change occurring. We did not have an independent Policing Authority before. The effectiveness of the authority can be seen already in terms of gardaí being publicly held to account for their work.

We have much stronger GSOC legislation in place, but if there is a need to reinforce it, that will be done. We have protections in place for whistleblowers to encourage people to come forward with their issues, and the legislation is strongly designed to ensure those cases are taken seriously, handled independently and the person's privacy is protected.

We are on a journey of reform and I do not pretend the journey is finished. The work continues to evolve and I am sure the tribunal will have recommendations for the future. This House will have to listen to those recommendations and make a collective decision as to what changes should occur. That is the role of this House. However, we must allow the tribunal to do its work of identifying the sources of problems, if they exist, before coming back to the House within nine months, as we have asked it to do, so we can see what action needs to be taken on foot of these very serious allegations.