THE general secretary of the Garda Representative Association, Mr John Ferry, has said he has "grave doubts" about the ability of the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, to do her job.
In an interview on News At One on RTE Radio, Mr Ferry denied he wanted to see Mrs Owen resign but said he had "grave doubts about whether she's up to the job or not and I think my doubts would be shared hay many, many people at this stage
His comments followed the publication of an editorial in the latest issue of the Garda Review, the magazine of the Garda Representative Association. The editorial, entitled "A Shambles of Despair", was highly critical of the Minister and her role in the handling of the Judge Lynch affair. Rank and file gardai were "incensed" by the affair, Mr Ferry said, and it warranted serious criticism.
Mr Ferry said the consequences of the failure to notify Judge Lynch of his delisting from the Special Criminal Court were "quite horrific". He said a number of people were now before the courts seeking their release before going to trial as a result of the Lynch affair, including two men charged in connection with the murder of Det Garda Jerry McCabe earlier this year.
"It's a serious issue of responsibility and accountability on the part of Government dealing with life and death situations," Mr Ferry said. "Regardless of who the Minister is, or what the Minister is, they can't walk away from that responsibility and say that, regardless of what happens, `I am not responsible'." He said the "tragedy" was that it was probably too late to do anything about the situation at this point.
The following is the editorial published in this month's issue of Garda Review under the headline "A Shambles of Despair":
"IT is always difficult to accept criticism, but P.J. Stone's remarks concerning the Minister's performance in the Department of Justice gave rise to a sensational response which included consideration of disciplinary action, outrage and apologies. Mr Stone's assertion that `law and order had fallen into the shambles of despair' was described as outrageous and over the top but within 48 hours it became prophetic.
So read the Garda Review editorial in February of this year.
Unfortunately three people were brutally beaten to death within 48 hours of his prophetic statement. The former Commissioner immediately apologised on behalf of the force for Mr Stone's remarks.
In the wake of the recent debacle concerning the delisting of Judge Dominic Lynch that prophetic criticism, which was so condemned and dismissed at the time, has acquired a new lease of life.
There is now a general perception that not only had law and order fallen into `a shambles of despair', but that the Department of Justice is in `a managerial shambles', according to the editorial in The Irish Times of November 21st.
The issue of law and order is being addressed by the present Commissioner with quite phenomenal success after only six weeks of the introduction of Operation Dochas.
In some particularly difficult parts of Dublin city, recorded crime had dramatically fallen by 40 per cent, 642 people were arrested in the first four weeks of the operation, not to mention the seizure of illegally held firearms and the recovery of monies. There were also 4,877 on street searches carried out in that period.
The `managerial shambles' in the Department has yet to be addressed. The Minister appears to be of the impression that, provided she remains transparent by explaining to Dail Eireann precisely how she and her officials made such an enormous cock up of the affair, everything will be fine and nobody will be held responsible for the possible release of people charged with the most serious crimes and who are currently held in the top security prison in the State!
Who carries the ultimate responsibility. Where does the buck stop?
The Minister's assertion that she does not believe she will have to resign if any of these prisoners is freed is quite unbelievable. It displays extraordinary arrogance and a total lack of any sense of accountability to the Irish people or responsibility for the actions or inactions of her officials. It also displays a total disrespect for the feelings of victims of serious crimes and their dependants.
In the wake of Veronica Guerin's murder the Minister established a special committee to inquire into the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the Garda Siochana. This committee is required to furnish its reports by the end of December 1996.
In light of the recent debacles and lack of accountability and responsibility, there is little likelihood of any success whatsoever in this area either.
What a shambles!"