Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, announced that he is referring the penalty points scandal to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. While Sinn Féin welcomes the decision to hold an independent investigation, a number of serious questions arise. It is almost two years since the Garda whistleblowers drew attention to irregularities in the implementation of the penalty points system. Rather than announce an independent investigation at that time, the Minister has chosen to do so just before a planned appearance by one of the whistleblowers at the Committee of Public Accounts.

The Taoiseach will recall saying that his Government's coming into office heralded a democratic revolution which would usher in a new era of political reform. Surely a key requirement of any serious political reform in this State would be to enhance the capacity of elected messengers of the people to ask the questions that need to be asked of public officials. Indeed, the Taoiseach said he wanted stronger Dáil committees which would be resourced properly. Now, however, when robust questions are being asked, we see once again that the real intention of the Government is to close down public scrutiny and frustrate oversight and accountability, including the work of the Committee of Public Accounts.

Is it not the reality that the sole reason for the protracted nature of this controversy is the failure by the Minister, Deputy Shatter, to deal decisively with this scandal in the first instance? Does the Taoiseach agree that the Minister has attempted to undermine the Committee of Public Accounts and has made the situation for future whistleblowers more difficult by his failure to defend the integrity of the whistleblowers in this case?

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