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

Then it ended up on "Prime Time" on Monday night with a sergeant in the Garda force, who happens to be a whistleblower, having to issue a statement in contradiction of either briefings or statements from the Garda Commissioner. That should never have been allowed to happen. The only reason we got to that stage was to protect the Minister's hide and to give him some fig-leaf to hang on to and to justify the statement he made last October. I do not know why he consistently clings to it. In his speeches the Minister says he does not want to go any further and he does not want to dwell on it. Of course we do not want to dwell on it but the man has a basic entitlement to his good name and to the facts in respect of the issue being articulated clearly and so forth.

I will lay this before the House in whatever way I can but Sergeant McCabe met the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, and he voiced concerns to the Minister that he had not been interviewed. Commissioner Callinan and assistant commissioner O'Mahoney both spoke to the Committee of Public Accounts and their statements are on the record. In fairness, assistant commissioner O'Mahoney admitted at the Committee of Public Accounts that he did not interview Sergeant McCabe, despite the Minister saying the opposite in October 2013 and that he did not co-operate and so on. The Road Safety Authority complained to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, writing to him and stating that Sergeant McCabe had not been interviewed. I presume the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, shared that with the Minister for Justice and Equality. What was the Minister's response?

Sergeant McCabe has made it clear to me that he has 28 years' service with a clean discipline record and that, basically, he wants his name cleared. He does not want that slur hanging around him or the accusation that he did not co-operate with the O'Mahoney inquiry. I believe it should be lifted. The Minister should do the honourable thing and withdraw it. Sergeant McCabe was not directed to co-operate with the inquiry. The relevant direction that we have seen was clearly focused on stopping him from accessing the information in the manner he had used to make his initial complaint. I do not know whether it is personal pride or some other unexplained reason but I believe the Minister for Justice and Equality has refused to treat the issue in a detached or objective manner. The undeniable fact is that Garda Sergeant McCabe was not interviewed as part of the investigation into an allegation he made. For most people who are objectively looking on that is extraordinary. This was known to the Minister when he claimed that Garda Sergeant McCabe had failed to co-operate.

The Minister is also aware that two bodies, the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Road Safety Authority, have expressed deep concerns about the financial and safety aspects of the case. The entire way that it was handled was wrong right up to the Committee of Public accounts hearing but there is not a hint of acknowledgement from the Minister in that regard.

If the Minister continues to maintain the same approach that he has shown to date then there is every reason to doubt that this affair will come to an end. His lingering resistance to an independent inquiry with powers to get to the bottom of all the different cases appears as strong as ever and it will not go away. Ultimately, the only way to protect public faith in the administration of justice and to ensure it is as strong as ever - the need to vindicate the rights of victims and their families remains absolute - is for the Government to face up to its responsibilities in that regard, but that is still unaddressed.

We will continue to pursue the only vehicle which can independently, objectively and outside of the political domain deal with the very grave and serious accusations that have been made - they are grave. I have read through the accusations and there is no sense of their being dealt with adequately or of lessons being learned, which is the key to any investigation. They are rather shocking in what they outline. That is at the core of this issue. The Government should relent and move forward after Mr. Guerin's report with a commission of investigation.

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