Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste is passing the buck, which is not all that surprising. Yesterday, it took a considerable period to have the Taoiseach admit that he had misquoted the Garda Síochána Act 2005. His first reaction when all of this came to public attention was to point the finger at the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and apportion blame there. That is what the Taoiseach did. He now accepts that he misquoted the legislation. Does the Tánaiste accept that it was utterly inappropriate for the Taoiseach in the first instance to point the finger at the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, which independent body the Tánaiste now lauds?

The record will reflect that the Minister, Deputy Shatter, was incomplete in his account of this matter to the Dáil. The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission did trigger a public interest investigation because it believed there may have been Garda Síochána involvement in surveillance of its offices. I am sure the Tánaiste grasps the full seriousness of this. Why, when the Minister, Deputy Shatter, was aware of this fact did he deliberately omit it from his statement to the Dáil? As the Tánaiste is aware, the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has form on these matters. When two garda whistleblowers stepped forward recently he was quick off the blocks to rubbish them. This controversy emerges and he is out of the traps to rubbish the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. That is his style.

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