Matt Shanahan warns court ruling could disrupt Garda prosecutions
Matt Shanahan spoke on 14 June 2022 about Garda court presenters and the impact of a recent High Court ruling, and he welcomed an amendment to close the legal loophole. He also outlined wider policing concerns including anti-social behaviour, repeat offenders, summons delivery failures and overcrowding at the Waterford divisional headquarters, urging technological and capital responses.
High Court ruling and amendment
The speaker explained that the principle of Garda court presenters allows members of the Garda to institute and conduct prosecutions in summary court in the name of the DPP. He said a late-May High Court ruling requiring a prosecuting Garda to be present to progress a case threatens district court prosecutions and that the regional group welcomes an amendment to close the loophole.
Policing challenges and community impact
He detailed a range of policing pressures - increased anti-social behaviour, drug abuse, criminal theft and damage, and attacks on people and on Garda members. He raised concerns about repeat offenders, broad use of legal aid, what he described as an over-accommodative sentencing stance linked to a lack of prison accommodation, and the withdrawal of discretion from community and regional Garda that is harming community liaison.
Summons delivery and technology proposals
Shanahan highlighted repeated problems with summonses not being picked up at addresses and cases being deferred as a result. He proposed integrating technology so summonses can be issued by mobile phone or email, noting that many people already receive travel documents on their phones, and argued digital service would speed up court activity and improve service rates.
Waterford divisional headquarters and funding plea
The TD raised local infrastructure concerns at his own divisional barracks in Waterford, now designated a divisional headquarters serving over 12 counties and coordinating emergency services. He described severe overcrowding, no capital development for two decades, lack of lockers and workspace, and said a capital design footprint of three or four million euros exists; he asked the minister to liaise with the Justice Department, the Commissioner and the OPW to secure the requested funding.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
The principle of Garda court presenters means that any member of the Garda issue can institute and conduct prosecutions in a court of summary jurisdiction in the name of the DPP and as people have said already the system has been well represented well established and has been working very efficiently. For many in the district court prosecutions the legal base for Garda court presenters being well understood ensures that Garda would not be taken off the beat because they are required to present in court to conduct their own prosecutions on every summons that they initiate. So the proposed amendment has been recognised as required due to a recent High Court ruling the end of May where the High Court found against the state requiring that a prosecuting Garda must be present in court to progress the case he or she has initiated. So such a finding if left unamended will completely disrupt the courts as has been suggested so therefore I as members of the regional group will be well welcoming the amendment that is coming in and I think it is very important that we close out this legal loophole. I can just speak maybe for a few minutes Minister on the actual actions of Garda as opposed to the court so much and the difficult job they have to do in terms of trying to integrate with the court system and to process their own work and we have significant challenges now across the state not least the increased challenges of anti-social behaviour, drug abuse, criminal theft and damage and attacks upon the person and indeed attacks upon Garda. Many of those accused in the courts of serious crimes are availing of legal aid and I would say an over accommodative stance in terms of sentencing regimes and it is probably to do with the difficulties and the lack of prison accommodation but it is a fact that it has been made public quite a number of times many people walking around with multiple convictions who should be basically in a custodial situation and are not and are coming up time and time again before the courts. I think this is very challenging for Garda to be seeing these people out and about when they are trying to prosecute them in the courts. I would say also much of the discretion that was available particularly to community and regional Garda has been withdrawn in recent years with the result now that more minor prosecutions are being activated and for many in the Garda they are admonished to ensure that the letter of the law is applied without cognizance to the spirit that it was intended. I think you need to have a look at because I believe it is having a detrimental effect in Garda community liaison and engagement and I think it is obstructive to building the relationships that community and Garda need to facilitate and to share relationship and information and particularly information that would expedite the solving of less serious crimes in the country. And also in terms of expediting court appearances, we have a significant problem now in the state where summonses are going out, they are not being picked up by and post, people are not at the addresses that they are being sent to and we have over and over deferral of cases. And it is interesting if you look at air travel at the moment now Minister, it is ubiquitous that everybody is getting their boarding cards through their phones. So people have no problem accessing travel documents through their phones all the time and I think you need to look at some integrating technology now that summonses can be issued by means of mobile phones or by means of emails. This would do an awful lot to speed up the activities in terms of the courts and to make sure that summonses are served and that people are deemed to have been served. I also just want to mention the issues of my own Garda station, the divisional headquarters now for the South Eastern Waterford which I brought up here in this house with you Minister some months ago again. And I was happy in recent days to attend a community engagement down there which was attended by all of the rescue services and ambulance services in the area. And that is only right because Waterford as you probably know now is serving over 12 counties, all emergency 911 calls, air sea rescue, they coordinate everything down there. And Minister, as I said to you before, if you go into the barracks down there, there is not room to swing the proverbial cat inside that building that has had no expansion, no capital development for the past 20 years. And even though it has now been designated a divisional headquarters with more people to come into it and more people from the private sector to work there. There is no room for these people, there is no room for the members there to put in their bags, very few lockers. And I would ask you again, Minister, would you please liaise with the Justice Department, with the Commissioner, with the OPW to see can we find long requested funding for this barracks. There was a capital footprint, I understand, given to the department, a design plan, given to the department. It was three or four million euros worth, Minister. And I would ask you now please to resource that so that the members down there can do their jobs efficiently. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much The mayor of the Members...
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
