Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

There is a young woman in the Public Gallery this evening who has travelled from England; a woman whom Deputy Shatter represented when she was a child; a young woman who was sexually abused horrendously by her father; a young woman called Sarah Bland. Sarah and her mother have provided detailed statements to the gardaí containing serious allegations against Deputy Shatter with regard to perverting the course of justice, obstructing the course of justice and other serious matters. This is one of a number of horrendous cases that remain unresolved in this State. There are too many for us to deal with in a matter of minutes.

To listen to the Taoiseach earlier talking about the Government moving speedily and decisively was quite simply sickening. He talked about a murderer being at large in the context of the case of Sophie Toscan du Plantier as if it was something new. Five Supreme Court judges have previously described the conduct of the gardaí in that case as "breathtaking" misbehaviour. It has been mentioned many times here before but nobody wanted to know. In 2005 Marie Farrell withdrew her statements against Ian Bailey. She went to the press and told everybody that she was given favourable treatment for signing false and blank statements. Nobody wanted to know. Nobody wanted to upset the Garda. In 2001 the DPP produced a report which showed that gardaí had fitted up Ian Bailey. When we brought Ian Bailey to this House last year nobody wanted to know then either. That man, at that time, was facing a European arrest warrant based on briefings by Irish gardaí involved in a corrupt investigation. It is time for the Minister and the rest of the Government to go.

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