Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The cynicism of tonight's attack on a veryy good man with a passion for public service will not, ultimately, be lost on the public. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, has responded to what are essentially legacy items in quick time. The Cooke and Guerin inquiries and the Fennelly commission will independently and objectively evaluate the issues. For there to be a basis for a motion of no confidence, the Minister would have had to have been negligent or done wrong. Neither is true. Far from doing wrong, the Minister has introduced in his term to date a raft of reforming legislation covering white collar crime, human trafficking, Second World War veterans, community service, insolvency, legal services, defence of our homes, protection of children and the attachment of fines to earnings. The Minister has shown at all times a willingness to be forward thinking and radical.

See this speech in context