Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I challenge the Minister on his argument that some Opposition Deputies are anti-Garda or at least do not praise the Garda. The Minister is wrong. Many of us have brothers or other relations and friends serving in the Garda. These good people have never used politics or politicians to climb the greasy pole of promotion and have just done their job to the best of their ability. These people should also be remembered tonight, because they have taken the hit when all they wanted to do was serve the public. I will not take any lectures from the Minister on this matter, as these people want honesty, trust and professional policing.

The objective of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate is to ensure that the resources available to the Garda Síochána are used to achieve and maintain the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in its operation and administration, as measured by reference to the best standards of comparable police services. That comes from section 117 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, and we all agree on that principle.

We should remember another group that has been ignored in the debate - that is, the silent majority who complied with the law, took penalty points and paid fines before getting on with their daily lives.

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