Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending and for their opening statements. I wish to address a couple of comments Mr. Collins made in his statement.

Mr. Collins seems to make the point that there is a concern that this is moving away from reforms that were clearly necessary and appropriate in the past. He indicates a sense that some of the matters that were very concerning for many people regarding how the Garda was run and managed in the past had been dealt with to some extent through the establishment of external bodies and oversight but that some of that has now been pulled back. I would like a little more detail and to tease out exactly where the witness feels that is happening. Does he feel when the board is established it will be much less independent than it would have been in the past?