Gardai treated like foreign army, says Deasy

Gardaí are treated like a foreign army in many areas of the State, the Dáil was told, as Fine Gael demanded a role for councillors in local policing.

The party's justice spokesman, Mr John Deasy, pointed to the growing rift between the public and the Garda and demanded that local authorities "must become involved with helping the police deal with security issues in their area", because gardaí were increasingly treated like a "foreign army".

It did not mean giving councillors decision-making powers but the opportunity to question policing methods in their area and to support their gardaí. The Waterford TD was speaking during the initial Dáil debate on the Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill, which gives domestic force to an EU agreement on joint police investigations between two or more member-states.

Introduced by the Minister of State for Justice, Mr Brian Lenihan, the Bill legislates for the establishment of teams across EU police forces for specific criminal investigations.

Fine Gael's spokesman welcomed the legislation but expressed concern that such investigative teams placed a drain on the regular Garda complement.

While such teams were often effective, "in many such cases we are stripping the regular complement of the Garda Síochána to form specialised units".

Mr Deasy believed the legislation dealt well with co-operation between international police forces but this was not happening at home in the relationship between the Garda and other entities involved in social policy and security matters.

The line of communication between TDs and councillors and their local gardaí "is often not what it should be.

"They are often hesitant to phone the superintendent about a policing matter." Mr Deasy pointed out that councillors received a salary of up to €30,000 and it was therefore "not unreasonable to ask them to take on a role of policing and security in their neighbourhoods.

"If we do not take this holistic approach and target some of the working-class neighbourhoods such as Limerick and Dublin, the situation will get worse."

Outlining the details of the legislation, the Minister said the Bill allows for the setting up of joint investigation teams of two or more EU member-states, "for a specific purpose and limited period, to carry out criminal investigations in one or more of the member-states setting up the team". The Bill also includes provisions for written protocols on key aspects of co-operation between the Garda and the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the exchange of personnel.

Sinn Féin's justice spokesman, Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh, said that while his party supported effective action against cross-Border organised crime, it was "vital that we are constantly vigilant to ensure that in our outrage at acts of violence, cruelty or abuse we do not rush to judgment".

Provisions "based on gut reactions to sensational cases are bad law". The Dublin South-Central TD said that the new mechanisms for co-operation and information sharing "will allow for members of foreign police forces and possibly intelligence agencies to operate in this State".

The legislation "going beyond the existing mechanisms and therefore has far-reaching consequences for the sovereignty and human rights of Irish people".

He added that "human rights begin at home" and called for the Minister to seek the opinion of the Human Rights Commission on the Bill.