Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

If the Members opposite are saying that is not a detailed inquiry, I do not what they can say next. I welcome the Commissioner's comments on the investigation. I want to see it come to fruition. The Commissioner has said decisions will be taken before the end of the year.

When we contrast the work of the Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement with what is happening in the Moriarty tribunal, which has been running for 15 years, there is no comparison. We must move away from the tribunal model. It is not fit for purpose. I believe its findings will be irrelevant. We can no longer afford it. We must move to the model the Garda Síochána and the Director of Corporate Enforcement are rolling out in regard to the inquiry in Anglo Irish Bank.

If we want to find extra resources for the Garda we should close down the tribunals, examine the McCarthy report and cut from the top down. We should examine the reports of the efficiency review on the local authorities and have debates about those. We should bring in more early retirement packages such as those announced by the Health Service Executive this week. Let us have real debate and move away from the empty blame game because it is getting us nowhere. As pointed out by RTE in its independent production, the Members opposite did not say anything about it at the time. It was not said on this side of the House either and therefore the Opposition can share in the blame.

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