Liz O'Donnell (Dublin South, Progressive Democrats)

Ministers also need to be more robust and courageous with their own Departments when parliamentary questions are tabled. As a Minister of State I was always careful when replying to parliamentary questions. We must remember that as Ministers and Ministers of State we represent the people and not the Department. The State is not always virtuous. It has at times, through its agencies, acted against the rights of citizens as it has on this occasion, through the actions and criminal conspiracy of gardaí and in its delay in bringing these matters into the open. Such a conspiracy is so grave that it constitutes a subversion of the State and is a crime against the people.

The very first Commissioner of the Garda, Michael Staines, in 1922, said: "The Garda Síochána will succeed, not by force of arms or numbers, but by their moral authority as servants of the people." The Garda Síochána was founded not on force, but on moral authority. The revelations at the tribunal have undoubtedly shaken those foundations. It is vital now that we restore the trust that is held to a huge degree in our society. The clarity and forthrightness of the report is a start to that process.

Much has been said about the detailed findings relating to investigation into the death of the late Mr. Richard Barron — a tragedy that ought not be overlooked as we deal with the wider political context. A family and a community lost a person close to them — and have suffered in the course of recent years arising from these bizarre events. We set up the tribunal because it was perceived that the Garda had made an appalling mistake, which was compounded by the arrest, framing and targeting of innocent citizens. Those innocent citizens, Mr. Frank McBrearty Jr. and his cousin Mr. Mark McConnell, were arrested for Mr. Barron's murder. That mistake, the framing and the targeting were all the work of members of the Garda Síochána.

It is important to remember that the findings of the report apply to some gardaí, not all and specifically to certain gardaí in the Donegal division. The findings have been as much of a shock to gardaí across the country as they have been to the general public. However, based on the Minister's unscripted and important contribution this morning, where he revealed that he, as Attorney General advising the then Minister, was denied full access to the Carty report into these matters, one has a feeling that something more systemic, dangerous and sinister was going on at higher levels.

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