Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has 100% supported him in doing that and the Tánaiste is now 100% supporting him as well. He thinks it is okay to use private information that the Garda Commissioner or gardaí give to the Minister for Justice and Equality. The Tánaiste is giving him carte blanche. That is essentially what he said in his reply. I asked a simple question. Was what the Minister did right or wrong? The Tánaiste just about said it was. He used the most popular phrase emanating from Ministers right now, which is "context". The context is clear. Whether one agrees with Deputies Wallace, Clare Daly and others, what has happened since the penalty points issue was first raised has not been pretty. The Tánaiste described it as a "bad episode". One Deputy was handcuffed and ended up in a prison cell. I am uncomfortable about that, irrespective of whether people are uncomfortable about the issues raised by the Deputies. I am uncomfortable about the fact that people who might be annoying Ministers are being undermined and so on.

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