Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I am entirely unaware of the party political allegiance of any of the senior gardaí with whom I have ever done business. They have never let me know, by any means, anything by which I could make such a judgment.

The other form of reprehensible favouritism to which Members have referred is that relating to some form of internal politics whereby members of a particular Garda division may favour each other and crowd up the promotions ladder in this way. This Bill puts in place for the first time ever — I say this to all the Deputies who have been in office and have not delivered — a system under which there will be an independent promotion board of which the majority of members will not be gardaí and will be selected from panels appointed not by the Commissioner but by the Government.

See this speech in context