Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister will understand why many citizens will be very sceptical about all of this. Many more will be outraged that under a succession of Ministers for Justice from Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats and Fine Gael, thousands of telephone calls in and out of Garda stations were recorded, inappropriately and illegally in some instances. Did these include detained persons speaking to their solicitors? This is the latest in a series of debacles around An Garda Síochána, the administration of justice and the Minister. Each of these scandals has demonstrated an unhealthily close relationship between the Minister for Justice and Equality and the former Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, in which the Minister lost his objectivity and sense of responsibility to the Irish people and his office. Each scandal has highlighted the Minister's inability to address properly the serious issues which have emerged for the justice system and for An Garda Síochána. Instead of new politics and a new way of doing things, as promised by this Government three years ago, we have seen the same old approach.

On each occasion, the Minister's first instinct has been to protect the Garda Commissioner rather than get to the bottom of the various allegations without fear or favour. It began with two Garda whistleblowers, John Wilson and Sergeant Maurice McCabe, who raised their concerns regarding the quashing of penalty points by senior gardaí. The Minister responded by attacking the complainants. He attacked Deputy Mick Wallace.

See this speech in context