Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For any person, a nomination to serve as a Cabinet Minister is a great personal honour. Deputy Charlie Flanagan has every right to be pleased and proud of this nomination. I and my party congratulate him and also his family and supporters, without whom he would not have reached this moment. I know it is a day they will celebrate and remember with great satisfaction. Likewise, I wish the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, well in her new portfolio.

Due to the Government's large majority, the outcome of this debate is not in question. However, it is still important that we address the crisis which has led to this appointment being required. Appointing a new Minister does not by itself deal with what has happened and the unprecedented collapse in public confidence in vital parts of the administration of justice. We are getting a new Minister, but what we need is a new direction. If all we get is a new face carrying on with the same policies and the same approach, further damage will be done.

It is absurd that we are today discussing the replacement of a Minister for Justice without knowing any specific information about why he resigned. While Deputy Shatter's resignation letter is full of his usual defiance and failure to admit error, clearly Mr. Guerin has made extremely serious points about the mishandling of grave material. Ensuring that this cannot happen again and formally ending the era of dismissing inconvenient evidence and attacking opponents must be at the top of the new Minister's agenda. Yet, we have been denied the opportunity to see the Guerin report before Deputy Shatter's successor is appointed. We have also been denied even the most basic information about how the Taoiseach and former Minister, Deputy Shatter, effectively pushed a Garda Commissioner into resignation. This shows a lot, but does not demonstrate a respect for accountability.

Since the first decades of this State, there has not been such controversy concerning the interaction of Ministers and the Garda Síochána. Before this can be dealt with, the Government must acknowledge it. Instead of doing this, what we have heard from the Taoiseach and the rest of the Government are assertions that Deputy Shatter did a great job and everything was fine even though he chose to resign. In recent years, the Department of Justice has been run with no accountability, an intolerance for questions, unnecessary conflict and a refusal to respect the views of others. Some important legislation has emerged, but it is absolutely untrue that the administration of justice has been radically reformed. In fact key elements of it have been undermined.

We need a Minister who will rebuild the shattered relationship between Government and the Garda Síochána, who will respect the fact that a garda working in the community makes an impact which can never be matched by touring huge distances in squad cars and who is willing to listen to gardaí and engage with their representative organisations. We need a Minister who is willing to rein back on changes to the legal system which will make it impossible for ordinary people to be represented by the best legal talent and need someone who understands that personal prejudice is not the same thing as evidence when imposing changes no one is asking for and which will deliver no credible benefits but, potentially, make an elite system more elitist. We need a Minister who believes that whistleblowers have a legitimate role to play, because things can go wrong even in the best of systems. The justice system needs a Minister who does not brush aside inconvenient information.

We agree that we do not need another Minister who combines the roles of Minister for Justice and Minister for Defence. Leaving aside the fact that the near universal practice internationally is to separate these roles, the experiment of joining then has been a complete failure. The Defence Forces believe that they have been significantly reduced in terms of political engagement and the drift in policy terms has been obvious. Morale is very low among the Defence Forces. The Taoiseach must take responsibility for that failed experiment, which was a wrong decision in principle. The Department of Defence was in many ways a model of public sector reform in the past decade and a half. Before the crisis, it had reduced numbers, increased activity and added significantly to Ireland's status as an international force for peace. There is no reason for the two Departments to be joined. It has been bad for defence and the crisis to be addressed in justice is big enough to take up a Minister's full time.

The resignation of Deputy Shatter is something which should have happened a long time ago. He has chosen to leave without admitting any error and in the name of protecting the electoral interests of the Government. He has however pointed out his gratitude to the Taoiseach and colleagues for their constant and steadfast support. This support continued up to lunchtime yesterday, when the Tánaiste said he had full confidence in Deputy Shatter. This steadfast support from Fine Gael and the Labour Party stands in sharp contrast to their approach in regard to former Minister, Deputy Róisín Shortall, who was implementing clear policies on primary care contained in the programme for Government, noble policies which sought to help people in marginalised and disadvantaged communities. She was let go without any defence whatsoever.

If Deputy Shatter's resignation is to have any meaning, the Government owes us an explanation for the sheer number of times it chose to defend the indefensible. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and their parties were happy to allow behaviour which should never have been acceptable. When information was withheld about the Smithwick inquiry, Fine Gael and Labour had no problem with that. When confidential information was illegally used to make a false allegation of hypocrisy against a Deputy, Fine Gael and Labour said "carry on". When information damaging to another Deputy was leaked and no action was taken, Fine Gael and Labour did not say a word. When a friend and donor was appointed as confidential recipient, Fine Gael and Labour thought there was no problem. When whistleblowers with grave information were marginalised and their concerns dismissed, Fine Gael and Labour tried to ignore it. However, eventually and as late as possible they said that whatever the problem was, it was not political. When I was attacked in the House for having the temerity to challenge what had happened, Fine Gael and Labour cheered along and were happy to vote confidence in this behaviour.

Last night the corridors of Leinster House were full of Fine Gael and Labour Party Deputies talking about how Deputy Shatter's resignation had somehow brought this chapter to an end. They have decided that their record of supporting the behaviour that led to his resignation is irrelevant. It is not irrelevant; in fact, it is a key factor in this debate. It is not just a new Minister we need, but an understanding that the arrogant and unaccountable way in which this Government as a whole has behaved is what led to the resignation. That is at the heart of the issue. Arrogance and a lack of accountability are the hallmarks of the Government's behaviour towards the Opposition and the very serious issues that are raised in this House. That is fundamentally what led to the Minister's resignation and the need to appoint a new member of the Government. It has to change.

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