Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In the first instance, I will refer to the two reports that were published last week regarding penalty points and the allegations of erasing penalty points. We have no issue with those reports. We welcome the finding that there was no corruption. We also agree that An Garda Síochána should be allowed to exercise a degree of discretion. Some people have sought to discredit the reports by saying that the Garda should not investigate the Garda. It is open to the Minister, the justice committee or the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission to inquire into the matter also. There is an outside agency that could have a degree of oversight on that, should it be warranted. I was anxious to put our position in that regard on the record.

Unfortunately, having dealt with that point, we now face the situation regarding last Thursday night's "Prime Time" programme. Since then, the Minister has sought to completely confuse the issue regarding what he said and the privileged, private information he used on that programme to smear another individual. He has continually sought to mix that up with the reporting on the two reports last week. He is doing so in a skilled attempt to try to confuse people. I have said the Minister should resign and I stand over that statement. That is the position of our party. The Minister has clearly crossed the line. He knowingly and willingly abused his position to smear another individual with private, privileged information that came into his possession. He did this to a political opponent on national television.

Where does the Minister stand with regard to due process, natural justice and a person's privacy and any rights they might have with that? Where do the Fine Gael Party, the Labour Party and the Government stand on that? The Minister clearly made a predetermined decision to appear on that television programme and to use that private, privileged information in that manner. He set himself up as judge, jury and executioner of a political opponent. That is not on. Following last Thursday, the Minister made a statement yesterday. That raised further questions. The Minister referred to a general briefing and to the information about Deputy Wallace as being merely incidental. The Minister also said he did nothing unlawful. That is not for him to determine. He is happy to be judge, jury and executioner of another individual on RTE's "Prime Time" and, at the same time, he wishes to act as judge and jury in his own regard. Unfortunately for the Minister, that determination will be made by SIPO, the Standards in Public Office Commission, and the Data Commissioner. The Minister cannot behave like people in banana republics behave. As a modern society, we must have a degree of responsibility and own up to responsibilities.

We must look at the Minister's track record in respect of similar circumstances when he sat on this side of the House. We are judging the Minister by his own standards and by the utterances he made when similar situations arose over the years. In 2002, the then Minister of State, former Deputy Bobby Molloy, had an issue. The current Minister clearly said, "The Minister should recognise that his position as a Government Minister is no longer tenable and should resign. Such a monumental error of judgment might have been forgivable had it been made by a political novice serving a first term in the Dáil...". The Minister should apply that standard to himself. In 2010, the Minister stated, quite incorrectly, with regard to Deputy Willie O'Dea, that he willingly and publicly discussed, for his own electoral gain, confidential information furnished to him by a member of An Garda Síochána, and that such conduct was unacceptable by any Minister in any Government. Again, I ask the Minister and his colleagues to judge the Minister by his own standards. By those standards, he is not being consistent and is engaging in blatant hypocrisy.

The Minister spoke about his role and responsibility as head of the Garda Síochána. He is supposed to be the ultimate leader, but the Garda does not see leadership in him. There is an unhealthy tension, which we have discussed in this House on many occasions. The Minister has not made any efforts to foster and rebuild a decent working relationship with An Garda Síochána. I believe the Minister has compounded that unhealthy situation. He quoted the Garda Síochána Act regarding the role and responsibilities of the Garda in briefing a Minister. The relevant section of the Act permits the Garda to brief the Minister on three issues - the preservation of peace and public order, the protection of life and property and State security. Where does the briefing relating to a Member of this House or, indeed, a private citizen whom the Minister is due to face in a debate on a television programme come into play? The Minister is dropping the person who gave him that briefing into the mix, whether knowingly, willingly or inadvertently. There are serious penalties for members of An Garda Síochána who breach that section of the Act. The Act provides for a fine of up to €50,000 or six months imprisonment.

As I said yesterday, the Taoiseach's response has been particularly weak, both when he was in Boston and in the House today. He expressed 100% confidence in the Minister. What type of message does it give to people in our communities when the Taoiseach can express confidence in a Minister having blatantly used private, privileged information to discredit and smear somebody? What does the Taoiseach stand for when he does not stand for people's rights, due process and natural justice? He was asked a simple question by Deputy Micheál Martin during Leaders' Questions today, whether he accepted that it was wrong, "Yes" or "No". He could not give an answer; he was unable to say it. The Government must not only act appropriately, it must be seen to act appropriately. In this matter, it is failing very badly. The Government need only look to the actions of President Obama, a real leader. He sacked the head of the Internal Revenue Service.

I have a number of questions for the Minister. First, how did he come into possession of the information which he revealed on the RTE "Prime Time" programme last Thursday night? Who briefed him? He said in passing in his statement that it was the Garda Commissioner. Has the Minister received similar information on other people? Is it now in his possession? Has he previously used this type of information against other people or, indeed, other political opponents?

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