Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions

Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

4:35 pm

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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On that matter, the general secretary of the AGSI, Mr. John Redmond, has already stated Mr. O'Brien has cast aspersions on the good character of the force and cast a slur on its members.

I will now revisit the bugging of GSOC. If a person goes into a room and plants a device that is not supposed to be there, whether one calls it a "bug" or a "device" - one cannot get away from the fact that a bug is a bug - it does not take Inspector Clouseau to figure out that if one could identify the person or people who leaked this story, one might also find the source or who planted the device. That would kill two birds with the one stone. Is there anybody else in GSOC, in addition to Mr. O'Brien, whom he thinks should resign over this matter? Does he think the handling of this matter is a resigning matter?