Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A growing scandal is emerging relating to the administration of justice, and a range of issues are evident regarding the penalty points saga, the undermining of whistleblowers and the Garda inspectorate report contrasting very starkly with the O'Mahoney report on the penalty points issue. The bugging inquiry was established to consider occurrences at the office of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC. There have been attempts by the Minister for Justice and Equality to undermine GSOC and its chairman. He almost had them under the spotlight because of his general adversarial response to issues of this kind. The Minister has had a fundamental inability to respond properly to the issue of the status of whistleblowers. To top this off, for the first time in three decades we have had the resignation of a Garda Commissioner, following a very serious statement from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar.

It was a very considered and detailed statement in which he said the whistleblowers were distinguished and so on. That was followed by the Tánaiste and almost all the Labour Party Ministers. We tabled a private notice question asking the Minister for Justice and Equality about the resignation of the Garda Commissioner and were told it did not meet the criteria. I believe it is a matter of national importance that the Garda Commissioner has resigned in these circumstances. There have been revelations today-----

See this speech in context