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

What we are dealing with here is not an isolated example. This is not a consistent pattern of behaviour built up over three years. For Fine Gael to defend one of its own is not surprising, but the length to which the Labour Party is willing to accept this becomes more incredible by the day.

If the contents of the transcript are serious enough for Mr. Connolly to be fired, then they are more than serious enough for the position of the Minister, Deputy Shatter, to be untenable. All the transcript does is reveal how we have been operating. A week on from its publication, not one factual statement contained therein has been rebutted. To say that it was proposed to abolish that office anyway is a ridiculous defence, particularly as the Minister, during his three years as Minister for Justice and Equality, has been indifferent to the treatment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, and its reports. The manner in which the Government and the Minister have established a review into the possible bugging of GSOC again suggests that the Minister has prejudged the issue. Of course, he did. He has self-judged documents which involved a conflict of evidence, but has provided Mr. Guerin with no means of testing that conflict of evidence. While Government Deputies constantly refer to an investigation, it is nothing of the sort. The Minister has refused to consult on the terms of the review, even sending out spokespersons to ridicule the idea that he would let a Labour party colleague oversee a statement.

The Minister, in his evidence to the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions last week, said there is a conflict of technical evidence which he is not competent to judge, even though that is what he has repeatedly done in trying to bury the entire controversy. Now, as before, an inquiry which is allowed to interview people and seek evidence is the only way of comprehensively and finally dealing with the issue. The eagerness of some to use the fact that GSOC carried out the sweep for bugs to attack the Commission, seek resignations and threaten the continued withholding of access to basic Garda information is striking. This is another issue on which the Minister and Government are silent. The fact that GSOC recommendations on misconduct cases are being ignored has been known for two years. The Minister has only now, and under pressure, shown any interest in this. Fianna Fáil strongly supports the protection of the independence of GSOC. Deputy Niall Collins has published a Bill to allow for the strengthening of GSOC, which will be brought before the House as a Private Members' Bill. If the Government is sincere in its new found concern for GSOC, it will support this legislation.

In bringing the whistleblower allegations to the attention of the Taoiseach I have been careful not to make specific allegations against identifiable persons. I have been very conscious of the fact that not all of the allegations made to the Morris tribunal were sustained and that we have an obligation to do what we can to allow people due process. The Minister, Deputy Howlin, addressed this issue in his speech at the conclusion of the Morris tribunal when he said it was absurd to expect the Deputy to investigate allegations before seeking their investigation. I welcome the Taoiseach's acknowledgement of the appropriate manner in which I have handled this matter, although the comments of some of his colleagues are partisan politics at its worst. Even though the Government has chosen to commence a review and the Taoiseach has said he is willing to consider going much further, the approach of the Minister has again been to effectively rubbish the idea that there is anything to be concerned about. He has spent the last week reviewing files not open to others and has come in here to declare that he has handled everything well and there is nothing to be concerned about. If that is the case, why is there to be a review? Did the Government actually decide that because everything is fine there is a need for a review process? The Taoiseach said yesterday that he does not know who to believe. The Minister, Deputy Shatter, continually says that everybody believes him.

See this speech in context