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

He has consistently refused to even contemplate the idea that he could be wrong and repeatedly impugned the integrity of any Deputy, Senator, journalist or member of the public who has challenged him. In recent days, his Government colleagues have chosen to circle the wagons around him by hyping his record and claiming he is always reasonable.

The Minister does not recognise the legitimacy of any criticism. When challenged he is sometimes snide, frequently partisan and always dismissive.Within weeks of his appointment he started as he intended to continue by withholding from the Dáil essential information about the progress of the Smithwick tribunal. While pushing through a guillotined Bill to limit the time for the tribunal’s work, the Minister withheld essential correspondence with Judge Smithwick. When this was exposed he attacked anyone who questioned him.

Crucially, the Minister did exactly the same thing when he appointed his friend and donor as Garda confidential recipient nearly three years ago. His speech this morning was remarkable in that he was silent on the entire episode pertaining to the confidential recipient. At the time of the appointment of the confidential recipient, he went as far as describing as "despicable" anyone questioning whether the appointment was appropriate.In 2011, it was put to the Minister that appointing a friend and donor meant the confidential recipient might not be able to act fully independently of the Minister and that, at a minimum, his performance of that role would be influenced by his connection with the Minister. These fears have been fully realised.

The Minister’s decision to fire Mr. Connolly has shown that he is willing to lay down his friends to protect himself. It is not true that the transcript which Deputy Mick Wallace and I brought to public attention clears the Minister. Incidentally, the confidential recipient informed Garda Maurice McCabe that he fully believed him, before he handed the relevant material to the Minister. What the transcript confirms again and again is that Mr. Connolly and the Minister were in regular contact about the allegations. It includes a direct statement by the Minister's friend and donor that the Minister might not be acting fully independently of the Garda Commissioner.It appears from the statement the Minister released from Greece and about which he did not answer any questions that Mr. Connolly was fired because he told a whistleblower, "if Shatter thinks you’re screwing him you’re finished". This statement has been described by various Government sources as an outrageous reflection on the Minister, one which made inevitable Mr. Connolly's departure from his position.At no stage was Mr. Connolly given the opportunity to give his side of the story. He is quoted in the transcript, which is clearly authentic, as saying the following to Garda McCabe:

Shatter would have read your report in detail, I know he did, he communicated with me and he will have read all of your exhibits, which I actually labelled them numbered one to nine in the actual in the order they were highlighted so he did know. And you know I redacted, the only thing I redacted was your name. Alan studied everything in fact I know he did.

Before today, the Minister's only comment about the transcript was made on 6 February, which was before he saw it.When one reads the dossier the cases jump out at one. There is, therefore, no point in creating a smokescreen about there being ten dossiers and so forth. I met the mother, sisters and brother of Sylvia Roche Kelly. They were not told anything and they were certainly not told about the totality and sequencing of that entire episode, from the abduction and savage beating of Mary Lynch, to the abduction of a five year old child in Dundrum to the savage murder of Sylvia Roche Kelly. While I accept that the following question is a subjective judgment, I ask the Minister if he asked any questions about what happened or the sequence of events in that case.

See this speech in context