Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I believe the authority has made a very valuable contribution to the development of policing. The point that Ms Feehily made about the code of ethics that new gardaí sign on graduation is important. It is work like that - the quiet work, the implementation work - that changes things, but that very often does not get the level of publicity it deserves. Such work will be to the long-term benefit of An Garda Síochána.

I would like to acknowledge one particular point made at the conclusion of Ms Feehily's opening statement. It was a particularly interesting and welcome line, namely that oversight is not a game of "Gotcha". Unfortunately, for a lot of people it is a game of "Gotcha". I also particularly liked Ms Feehily's point that the bar has to be set very high. Unfortunately, in a lot of instances, people put the bar very low when they engage in the game of "Gotcha". They seem to think that the bar can be low and I sincerely hope the Policing Authority itself does not become the next target on the "Gotcha" list, now that someone has to move on to the next target.

In response to Deputy Ó Laoghaire who asked about comments made by the GRA in terms of its acknowledgement of the scale of the issue and the inferences it drew, Ms Feehily said that the GRA would have to stand this up and that she would like the GRA to engage on it. To develop that further, if it cannot be stood up, what are the implications for the GRA and its leadership? It was a very serious allegation for a representative body to make on behalf of its members, particularly if it is not sustainable.