Ms Lois West:

That is very much above my pay grade. Yes, I think this matter warrants investigation and needs an external eye to examine what has happened in the past 15 months. We may have our own views on the matter, and we have our own records. We certainly know how we have personally felt for the past 15 months. I guess the reason that we are here is because for the past 15 months it has felt like we have been holding senior Garda management to account but that is not our job. I am not exactly sure whose job it is. We are here today because we hope that something will happen.

As I stated, there will always be expertise within lower ranks and grades, on the Garda as well as the civilian side of the organisation. There are trained barristers and members with various experience within the Garda ranks. However, there is a tension between expertise and rank structure. It is very much a rank-driven organisation, and when an instruction is given by someone in authority , it is followed. The difference in this scenario is that we did not follow such instruction but, rather, stood firm because we so strongly believed in what we were fighting for. By virtue of the value systems with which we were raised, we know how to behave ethically, which is what we have done throughout this process. People may question the process we have followed, how we have come to be before the committee or the things we have said today, but that has all been done with truth, conviction and a determination to do right in terms of public service and ensure the right things are done. However, we need help to do that.