Breathtaking indictment

In concluding his second submission to the PAC, Garda HR chief JOHN BARRETT reflects on a culture of secrecy and shoddy actions, and says there can be no true reform unless that culture is transformed.

IBELIEVE the work of the PAC, through its various hearings, has illuminated a pattern of behaviour which labels and describes some tangible artifacts of our organisational culture – the deeply held values, attitudes and beliefs of An Garda Síochána’s leadership in this current epoch.

In this particular case, I would submit, the historical antecedence of the matters before you is much less important that the more contemporary question of how these very serious issues of gross financial mismanagement came to be ignored, protected and enabled in plain sight since 2008. The critical and most telling aspect of the matters in evidence before you is what came to be ‘done’ and ‘not done’ since June 2015 and why. That is perhaps the most intriguing ‘outcome’ of all.

I commend you for your persistence and insightful questioning. It has served to illuminate that wonderful shorthand definition of organisational culture, ‘how things get done around here when nobody is looking’. From 2008 until now, there is no doubt that there was widespread awareness of the wrongs which were being done in financial, administrative and governance terms within the Garda College. But as the evidence presented to you shows, it all simply continues amid a round of ‘vacuous outputs’, ‘advice proffered’ and ‘fingerpointing’. We may never know anything approaching the full list of irregularities but the process of correction has now undoubtedly begun in earnest with your help.

What your work has also illustrated is the strength of the resistance to inquiry which was mounted internally over the past two years. A resistance which was sometimes subtle and at other times obscenely crude. It was a series of barriers hoisted against those who sought to identify, quantify and rectify the tangled web of abuses of the taxpayer’s funds. I trust you and your committee will give due consideration to the degree of courage and resilience deployed by those who sought to bring these flagrant abuses of the public purse to light. The body blows struck at those who, in doing their jobs, stood up in the face of real resistance. A resistance delivered by jibe and innuendo, by the abuse of formal and informal authority and by the delivery of administrative blows most frequently struck when those who stood up were not even present.

A campaign of secret letters written and criminal allegations made, of rights denied, of demotions effected, of threatened litigation, of calculated reputational and career-damaging actions, all done at the highest levels by those seeking to obscure and defend the indefensible.

Is there any other part of the Irish public service, or indeed the public service anywhere, where those who sought to right such a grievous wrongs were, through the reactions of the most senior leadership of a crucial organ of State respectively demoted, threatened with legal action and had criminal allegations secretly made against them and were then denied all rights of Constitutional and natural justice? How can it be right and just that those who simply did their jobs in senior roles in the public interest came to be subjected to such treatment? What fundamental statement does this make to others who may wish to draw attention to wrongdoing in An Garda Síochána in the months and years ahead? This catalogue of determined actions by the most senior leadership of the organisation has implications for the functioning of our very constitutional democracy.

It is to be noted that these matters come before you now as other matters, arising perhaps from a similar naked abuse of power in the same organisation, and also concerning the consequence of disclosure, are being considered by a justice of the Supreme Court. Yet again the public purse is being called upon to explore, of necessity, where truth is to be found in the actions and utterances of those employed at the highest levels of a police service dedicated to ‘protect and serve’. Mr Peter Charlton, in his

‘Flagrant abuses of the public purse’

book Lies In A Mirror, opens his argument with the assertion that ‘Deceit is the primary instrument for doing evil… and that people who perpetrate evil live in a myth.’

Most especially then, of all organisations, truth and accountability must be found to have a genuine value in An Garda Síochána and its suppression and distortion must have the most serious consequences.

Fundamental organisational and leadership change must come. Accountability must have a tangible edge. Roles of great import in our public service bring both privilege and obligation. You and your committee reflect on this frequently as representatives of the people, the very same public that we in An Garda Síochána are called to serve every day in the hour of need.

I believe that I am accountable for my actions and, like you, I reflect on how my actions and decisions influence and affect the lives of others.

There can be no place for pious pronouncement of cultural renewal set out upon a foundation of shoddy deed, contrived secrecy and denials of basic responsibility. Such behaviours simply amplify and justify cynicism, which is the ultimate impediment to real change.

Deep-rooted reformation is long overdue and that reformation most especially demands ‘authenticity’, the only foundation upon which shared values and goal congruence can ever be securely built in any organisation. I believe that I did my job and that I stood up for what is simply right and proper. No more than that. But I could only have done so within this cultural cauldron because others in key roles showed determination and courage too. Ken Ruane was a consummate professional and a wise and constant sounding board from the start. His advice to the Commissioner and to me was correct and unequivocal, though to this day it continues to be denied to you, the members of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee. Niall Kelly, when called upon, did his job without fear or favour. His reports speak for themselves, his determination remains undaunted.

Each of us stood up, requiring courage to do so and all of us suffered real and substantial detriment for an unwavering commitment to do the right thing. ‘The wagons were circled’, as Niall Kelly stated in his evidence.

Through the wider support of others, however – and, most encouragingly, there are very many throughout the length and breadth of the organisation – none of us relented or resiled from playing our part.

With your help and support, we look forward to continuing to do so.