Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In Greek mythology, the punishment for hubris - pride, arrogance and an excessive belief in one's own capabilities and worth - was handed out by the goddess Nemesis. In Greek tragedy, it was often the cause of the downfall of those riddled with guilt. This Government has been collectively responsible for a significant amount of hubris since its first day in office. However, the Minister for Justice and Equality has managed to manifest the execution of this hubris and it has come without any redeeming defect. The Minister has spoken in the Dáil over the past few days, and particularly today, with respect to the most extraordinary 48 hours in my experience in politics. These events have come at the end of the penalty points controversy, the Minister's contemptuous attitude towards whistleblowers, the sacking of the confidential recipient, disturbing revelations of spying at GSOC and, finally, the stunning ignorance of anything to do with the latest revelations on recordings. We have been asked to believe the incredible account that the Taoiseach gave to the House this morning concerning the timeline of the Cabinet's discovery of the recording issue. If the Taoiseach's account is taken as true, the Attorney General has serious questions to answer in regard to her communication of vital information to the other Cabinet members. An issue that was quickly judged by the Taoiseach and the Cabinet to be worthy of a full inquiry headed by a justice of the Supreme Court was allowed to sit on the Attorney General's desk from November of last year, apparently without her realising its seriousness. In the end, it was only raised by the Taoiseach when he contacted her on another matter. If he had not contacted her, how much longer would we have had to wait before she brought it to the attention of the House and the Taoiseach? What are the lines of communication between the Attorney General and the Minister's office? Are they functioning as they should be? Evidently not, given the failure over four months to communicate this issue to the Minister's office. We know that the Taoiseach, who has professed his full confidence in the Minister for Justice and Equality, waited almost 24 hours before informing us of the serious issues with an aspect of the administration of justice for which he is responsible.

This morning, we learnt that the Garda Commissioner resigned his position following a visit from the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality on Sunday night. This is the same Secretary General who failed to pass on the urgent letter from the Garda Commissioner to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, until after the Commissioner had resigned.

An Garda Síochána was founded on the principle of community policing and relies on the good faith and trust of the communities. It operates within the fabric of trust of the citizens of this country. The handling of the penalty points controversy, the response of the Minister to the concerns of the Road Safety Authority and, particularly, his reaction to the whistleblowers has been marked not by a desire to manage the administration of justice but, rather, by a desire to crush dissent from his opinion.

The interesting timing of the revelations of the past 48 hours may have overshadowed the impact of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate's report but it cannot take away from the fact that it vindicates ordinary decent people who took a brave decision to blow the whistle. These are people with families, who are married with children and who over the past two years have carried the stigma of being labelled. For two years we failed to act on the concerns of the whistleblowers, even after the Taoiseach passed on details of Sergeant McCabe's concerns in July 2012. We still failed to act. For over two years, the Minister for Justice and Equality has done nothing to address the serious allegations set out in Sergeant McCabe's dossier. These allegations include assault, abduction and, ultimately, the brutal murder of Ms Sylvia Roche Kelly. Nothing was done.

Sergeant McCabe brought these concerns to the Garda confidential recipient, Oliver Connolly, a political supporter of the Minister, only to be told, "If Shatter thinks you're screwing him, you're finished". This is in line with the pattern of the Minister's behaviour with regard to the suppression of dissent. The Minister has since washed his hands of the Garda confidential informant, firing him and failing to provide any explanations for Mr. Connolly's extraordinary statements to Sergeant McCabe. His actions have resulted in the independent oversight of An Garda Síochána being left in complete disarray.

Not only were Sergeant McCabe and the other whistleblowers subject to isolation, intimidation and having their allegations ignored; they were then subject to a disgraceful discrediting by the Minister and others. He falsely accused Sergeant McCabe of non-co-operation with the Garda investigation when, in reality, he had not been invited to an interview in the process. Sergeant McCabe, a decent and honourable member of the force, deserved and received an apology, although some argue it was not whole. This apology is owed not just by the Minister but by all Ministers who continued to express support for the Minister, Deputy Shatter, while he refused to acknowledge his ill-judged comments about these decent people.

I acknowledge that the Minister has corrected the record of the House and apologised for his false statements and the hurt caused to Sergeant McCabe and Mr. Wilson. Why it took so long is another matter and one can only wonder about the pressure brought to bear on him relative to the pressure brought to bear on those decent individuals. The silence from the Labour Party benches on this issue has been deafening. They have long sold out on their commitments on economic matters and on their promises in the areas of disability and mental health in return for the delivery of a social agenda. In this, they see Deputy Shatter as a key ally and turn a blind eye to his conduct in office. This is just one more item on the long list of betrayals of the party's value system since taking office.

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