Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I say, well done, that this matter has been included on the agenda so the House can debate it. My fear was that the Government would run away from it. The fact that I have speaking time shows that many of the Government Deputies who had an opportunity to speak in this debate ran away from it.

The Minister, Deputy Shatter, regularly accuses Deputies Mick Wallace and Clare Daly of being negative and damaging to the Garda Síochána. Even if that were true - which it is not - I am afraid he has now become the champion of damaging the Garda Síochána. So far as I can see, the Minister knows that Deputies Daly and Wallace are actually trying to do the right thing but he just wants to spin it against them. However, at this stage, it has spun so much that it is now starting to spin against the Minister.

If GSOC thinks twice before going to the Garda Síochána, then what confidence can the general public have? A rape victim or someone who has been beaten up will read in the paper that GSOC thinks twice before going to the Garda Síochána. What the hell confidence can they have in going to the Garda Síochána? I believe GSOC was correct not to contact the Minister immediately because it would have got the same reaction as now; at least it got the information out.

Deputies Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Joan Collins and I have an avalanche of people coming to us to report dire things that have been done to them by corrupt gardaí. We have had gardaí come to us about things that corrupt gardaí do. It is time the Minister did something about this because if he is really worried about the Garda Síochána's reputation being damaged, he should listen to Deputy Finian McGrath who said that 90% of the people in his area know what to believe. It the same all over social media: people do not believe the Minister nor do they believe that what has been said by this Government is true. Everyone makes mistakes and mine are well documented and I got a boot for them and I deserved it. The Minister is going to have to face the music on this one. To quote his own words, the soap box from which he is operating is on shifting sands.

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