Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This has been a long running saga. After meeting the Garda whistleblowers in September 2012, we tried to raise the issue of penalty points in the Dáil and we had to break the rules to share the shocking stories we had been told. The response from the Minister for Justice and Equality was to minimise and dismiss the claims, the whistleblowers and the Deputies involved. He made personal attacks against those of us who dared to raise the issue. When we held a press conference we were written off as the Buswells four. An internal report was subsequently produced and our challenges were again rubbished. The Minister chose to publish personal information about Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan on the same day that the report issued just to muddy the water. In January 2013, Deputy Clare Daly had the privilege of spending several hours in jail.

The more serious recommendations contained in the report of the Garda professional standards unit have not yet been implemented. On "Prime Time" he rubbished any notion that he might not have behaved properly in sharing information about me of a personal nature. None of his ministerial colleagues criticised him for this. He refused to allow GSOC to investigate the Roma children affair. Prior to the Minister's appointment, GSOC asked to investigate matters relating to the Corrib gas project under section 106 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. We asked him to reopen that case after we visited the Corrib area and heard about local people's anger at the way they had been treated. A record number of complaints have been submitted to GSOC regarding Corrib gas activities but nobody has been charged for any misdemeanour.

Maurice McCabe, who appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts, was undermined. An investigation into penalty points was eventually commissioned under section 102 of the 2005 Act but the Minister refused to act under section 106, which would have allowed GSOC to investigate practices, policies and procedures. Speaking before the Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, the Minister has just made a big issue of allowing GSOC to access the PULSE system. When the new protocols between GSOC and the Garda were introduced in September, he refused to permit GSOC full access to the system. It was only after political pressure in recent weeks that he eventually granted access.

The issue of GSOC surveillance has been one muddle after another. Decisions are not being made to garner the truth. For the past 18 months, there has been no appetite for proper procedure or the truth. That is very sad and I do not know how the Government can think it is acceptable to act in this way. Public confidence in GSOC, the Garda Síochána and the Minister is low. The dogs in the street know things are not the way they are supposed to be. Throughout these affairs, the Minister's tactic has been to minimise and dismiss allegations. There was much talk in advance of the last election about accountability and transparency but we are now getting the opposite. How much longer can this continue? Does the Cabinet believe the Minister remains fit for office? I do not think he is fit for office and if the question was put to a vote among the Irish public I am afraid he would not come out too well.

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