Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Therefore, there will be two. My next point was that if this was to be the case would it require another Supplementary Estimate and, obviously, it will. We also fully support the allocation of necessary finances for the investigation to be carried out comprehensively and professionally.

The backdrop to all of this is that citizens were exposed in recent months to the fact that they had been kept in the dark about the truth of what really happened in the small minority of our Garda stations over many decades and in the Department of Justice and Equality more recently. No one in authority, whether the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Justice and Equality, the former Garda Commissioner or the Attorney General, has given citizens answers to the questions that have been raised. This is why an investigation of this nature is required. Obviously it requires significant funding and will require many hours of work and a large amount of transcriptions. We will also support the allocation of additional funding if it proves necessary.

The revelations about the taping or tapping of telephone conversations at Garda stations was a major and serious development. It goes to the heart of fundamental issues for any democratic society. It has raised questions for the Garda, the administration of justice, the Minister for Justice and Equality, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.

A particular case prompted the Government to set up the commission - the Government had to be dragged into doing so and avoided it for a long time.

We would not be in this situation had the Government taken the advice of Opposition Members, including Deputies Wallace and Clare Daly, as well as members of Sinn Féin, such as our spokesperson, Deputy Mac Lochlainn.

It was the trial of four gardaí in respect of the assault of Anthony Holness in Waterford in February 2010 that started all this. The judge in the case ruled that recordings could not be used against the accused. She also said the practice of Garda stations recording incoming and outgoing calls was in breach of the law. However, it is the Ian Bailey case that is the real context for this scandal. The former Minister for Justice and Equality and the Government had known since early 2012 of a critique by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the initial Garda investigation into the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. That critique effectively destroyed the premise of the entire investigation into the murder of that poor woman, causing grave difficulties for her family and friends. Could I have the Taoiseach's attention for a moment? Despite this, the Government continues to defend itself in a civil case taken by Mr. Bailey and his partner, Jules Thomas, at a huge cost to the taxpayer. Every day it is costing the taxpayer a huge amount of money. Surely austerity, if not justice, would dictate that this was not a good use of public funds. Could the Taoiseach tell the Dáil how much this is costing and whether it is a good use of public moneys?

This is now an international story. The French authorities have been allowed to visit this jurisdiction to examine evidence provided by our authorities - evidence that we ourselves know is flawed. While the commission's terms of reference will include an examination of whether there is evidence of unlawful Garda activity towards Mr. Bailey, the evidence of such unlawful activity in other cases has been known since 2001.

The State has much to do - none of us can take satisfaction from any of this - to restore public confidence in the administration of justice, in the Garda and, if I may say so, in politics. I was struck by Deputy Ó Fearghaíl's comment to the effect that nothing had changed. I believed he was going to add "since we were in power". Nothing has changed. We have a job of work to do to restore public confidence, not just in justice and the Garda, but also in how the Oireachtas is governed. This investigation can play a part in that work, but it cannot be the only action taken by the Government.

I support the moving of the Supplementary Estimate. If I may, I will seek answers in some other way to my questions on the cost of the State's defence, etc.

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