Garda transfer requests ignored

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he had ignored requests from TDs to influence the transfer of gardaí to and from various locations throughout the Republic.

Mr McDowell said he was the first minister to bring before the House a new independent promotion system for every rank in the Garda, adding that it had been claimed the existing procedure had been imbued with party politics.

"I have been Minister for three years and I have never, in any shape or form, interfered, or made any representation or communication, formal, informal, nod, wink, nothing, to any member of An Garda Síochána in respect of any promotion.

"The same applies to the transfer of any garda from any part of the country to any other part of the country. Many deputies have come to me with pieces of paper during divisions, saying that so and so wants to go from a to b. They stay in my pocket and they go into the waste bin at home. I have never, ever interfered in this way, and I won't."

He was speaking during the debate on the An Garda Síochána Bill, which passed all stages despite sharp Opposition criticism of its guillotining by the Government. The Bill now goes to the Seanad. Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe was joined by other Opposition TDs in challenging the Government on the issue. Mr O'Keeffe said it was not just a truism to state that rushed legislation was bad legislation.

"There has been ample evidence of it over the years."

Mr O'Keeffe said he accepted that not all the 284 amendments required detailed consideration but some were of major significance.

The exchanges were frequently ill-tempered, with John Gormley (Green Party, Dublin South East) accusing Mr McDowell of showing contempt for the House by chewing gum.

Sinn Féin justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh argued for the establishment of a one-person position of Garda ombudsman, rather than a commission. "I have outlined the reasons for my proposal. The Minister has pointed out that there are commissions of this nature in other jurisdictions, but he was wrong to claim that such a model is used in Canada. There is no singular police service in Canada."

Ciaran Cuffe (Green Party, Dún Laoghaire) said the late US president Eisenhower had a sign on his desk saying "the buck stops here". "With regard to the ombudsman, it must stop at some individual's desk," Mr Cuffe said.