Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Taoiseach's earlier reply regarding the request from the Standards in Public Office Commission that it be allowed to carry out inquiries in the absence of a complaint being made to it is akin to saying the Garda should not carry out investigations in respect of normal policing unless somebody has made a specific complaint. If the commission has responsibility for policing the battery of ethics and standards legislation that now exists and has requested the power to carry out investigations on its own volition, surely it is reasonable to grant it such a power.

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