Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To finish, I direct a question to the Garda Commissioner. Unfortunately, I do not have an opportunity to go into the issue of the falsification of data. I presume it is a criminal offence for any garda to falsify the data of An Garda Síochána. Perhaps the Commissioner might confirm that it is. She has given the committee a very clear impression, or I take it from her comments, that this is a case of "Back me or sack me". She has referred to the statutory role of holding the Commissioner to account. As somebody who has the interests of An Garda Síochána at heart, she will know more than most that there comes a time when gardaí rely on the confidence of the public, which is sacrosanct. There must be the confidence of the public for rank and file gardaí and also for senior management. It is clear that support is ebbing and that, in terms of management and her own position, it is gone. The majority of Members of the Dáil do not support or cannot express confidence in her. Does she believe there is a responsibility at a certain point for senior management, regardless of the legal provisions to hold the Commissioner to account, to do something in the best interests of the force to restore confidence?