I welcome this debate. I want to speak in particular on the aspect of the motion on low morale, internal investigations in An Garda Síochána and how people who make disclosures or whistleblowers end up being the ones whose careers suffer. They often end up out sick, being bullied or shunned within An Garda Síochána for speaking out. I would also like the Minister to clarify whether the Fiosrú investigation he established into gender-based violence within An Garda Síochána will cover sexual harassment. I spoke to a currently serving garda who made a complaint about sexual harassment and it is being mishandled. It began when Carol – I will not use her real name – reported sexual harassment by a male sergeant. Carol was on duty in the Dublin morgue minding a dead body when her senior male sergeant came in and behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner. He propositioned her and sat on the sofa, right next to her, spread his legs out and made comments to the effect that he could tell people now that he had slept with her. He basically made it clear he wanted to engage in sexual activity. Any woman listening to this will understand the absolute fear of being alone in a room with somebody like that where they are also blocking the exit. He also picked up her phone and started sending her messages. That meant she did not have access to her phone if she needed help. Carol managed to get out of that room and waited about an hour and a half for him to leave. She did not make a complaint initially but she did speak informally to a sergeant, so that she might not have to work with that person. She well understood that women who make complaints often lose out. We all know that. The complaint was completely mishandled. Confidentiality in the Garda’s own procedures was breached. This is something the Minister should be very concerned about. The person Carol confided in spoke to the accused person and a whole load of other people in the station unbeknownst to the victim of the sexual harassment. That is absolutely outrageous conduct in a safeguarding process. Eventually Carol was shunned and bullied for making that complaint. The sergeant who engaged in this harassment did plead guilty after 22 months only minutes before Carol was to give her evidence thus depriving her of giving her testimony. He was fined, she thinks, about two weeks wages. He is back working as a sergeant supervising young female probationers and sitting in cars with them. It is Carol, the woman complainant, who is out sick whose career has suffered. She said that she destroyed her career and life the day she reported the wrong-doing. She followed the procedures. An Garda Síochána did not. Like Margaret Loftus, she said, her reputation and credibility were destroyed. There is a deep culture of sexism within An Garda Síochána which the Minister should be very concerned about. I spoke to Carol about this in depth. Carol told me about other women who were afraid of this sergeant and other incidents with him but no woman is going to make a complaint since he is back in action with no repercussions. She also told me about comments that she had been told of comments that were being made in stations about Margaret Loftus. They are absolutely sickening sexist comments. Boasts were made by a garda about beating his wife with a frying pan. This kind of sexism means that gardaí who are meant to deal with gender-based violence are at the coalface. The first person any woman or any victim, be they male or female, but it is more so women, or a child, is going to come into contact with is probably a garda. If they have these attitudes, how can people feel safe? Are women safe within An Garda Síochána? Somebody like Carol who is a long serving garda with an excellent record and loved her job but is now being edged out. The other issue relates to the Workplace Relations Commission. This applies in general. The Garda breached the procedures in this case. The WRC said that was okay. What is the point in having procedures then? The WRC is where people go. Why is sexual harassment not a criminal offence? It is not taken seriously at all. Sexual harassment is a marker for much more serious violence that will happen. If the case of Gisèle Pelicot in France, her husband was initially found out on a much less serious charge of upskirting as it is called. We should take sexual harassment very seriously. I do not know what the Minister would say to somebody like Carol. She is still serving within the Garda. Obviously, she is out sick. She is being bullied and shunned by other gardaí because she reported somebody who is claiming that they were completely innocent and that she fabricated it. I imagine we want to keep women within the Garda to have a diverse police service in this country. I would love the Minister to look into how An Garda Síochána are handling sexual harassment complaints. I would like him to confirm that he will include it in the new Fiosrú investigative team.

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