Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On 27 February I and my colleagues in Fianna Fáil tabled a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, well in advance of his current travails. Anyone who has followed the debate with regard to the Minister's blatant misuse of privileged information would understand that no one in their right mind could stand over his actions, and it is beyond me how the Government can do that. No one believes his excuses or his reasoning, and many unanswered questions remain.

On 27 February, this House had what I felt was a very good debate on policing, this Minister's mishandling of law and order, the fact that he has presided over the Garda Síochána but has lost the confidence of the rank and file gardaí, closed more than 140 barracks and under-resourced the gardaí. We gave over a week's notice of that debate, as we are required to do, but on 27 February the Minister decided not to show up in the Seanad to take the debate. I said on the day that that was probably the starkest example of this man's arrogance and disdain for people who do not share his views.

In that debate I said I would submit a freedom of information request for the Minister's diary, which I did and which I have in my hand. On 27 February, when he could not be bothered showing up for a two hour debate here in Seanad Éireann, the Minister spent 45 minutes meeting with representatives of Responsible Retailing of Alcohol in Ireland. He then met with his private spin doctor, Mr. Tom Fabozzi, for another half an hour while our debate was ongoing.

He was not on Government business or doing any bilateral meetings because of the European Presidency. He did not meet anyone of any note who in my view would have excused him from coming here to take a motion of no confidence in himself. He did not even stand up for himself and his record and answer the points here. I have a copy of his diary for circulation and it is not the most extensive ministerial diary I have ever seen. There is no excuse for the Minister not being in the House on this particular day. Will the Leader seek from the Minister, Deputy Shatter, the reasons he did not see fit to come to the House on 27 February to answer a Fianna Fáil Private Members' motion? It is disgraceful.