Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As already stated, my party tabled some motions in the Seanad last February. This was long before the matter relating to Deputy Wallace and the Pembroke Street episode came to light. The point is that there is major disquiet among rank and file gardaí, who went so far as to table motions of no confidence in the Minister for Justice and Equality at their conferences. They stated that they have no confidence in him. This must be the first occasion in the history of the State that the rank and file gardaí who keep our communities safe night after night have voted no confidence in a person who is ultimately in charge of the force. If we were to fail to table a motion of no confidence in the Minister in the wake of what has happened, it would simply beggar belief. We have an obligation to expose the fact that there is no connection between him and gardaí who operate on the ground.

There is also the matter of the closure of police stations. The Minister has stated that this is not a cost-saving exercise and that it is, rather, a management decision that will lead to better policing in communities throughout the country. All of the Deputies seated behind the Minister disagree with him. Obviously, they will vote confidence in him tonight and will trundle through the lobbies along with their counterparts in the Labour Party. At this stage, the latter are really wasting their time in government. We thought that they might at least have some say in respect of the direction in which things should be going. However, they have completely absolved themselves of any responsibility in that regard. The key issue which arises is that the Minister has decided - by his actions - to single-handedly undermine ordinary gardaí throughout the country on a daily basis. They said this themselves at their conferences. It is they who have no confidence in the Minister.

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