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

The Minister said the possibility of sending a replacement Minister or Minister of State did not arise. Can he give me further information on how it did not arise? When was he invited? On what date did he receive the invite to attend the AGSI conference? When did he become aware of a clash? What arrangements could he have made to send another Minister? Apparently, many years ago, the Minister of the day could not attend but another attended in his place. Yesterday the GRA president made the point that what really got to its members was the spin where the Government announced it had put in place hundreds of new Garda vehicles, but what it did not say was that hundreds more had been taken off the road. The GRA president spoke about the fact that there was no real consultation with its members. Does the Minister agree that it is now at crisis point where not only has he not been invited to engage with the GRA for a second year in a row but when the ASGI invites him, he does not even send a replacement Minister?

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