Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the Taoiseach's apology, although what happened to Sergeant McCabe was much more than what he just acknowledged. It is disappointing as if the Taoiseach had indicated that the Government accepts it did not handle the issue properly, it would have been a very good signal. We wish the Minister well in her work and we will support her in a critical way in doing that work. If the Taoiseach had accepted that the Government had a responsibility but did not handle the matter properly, it would have been a very good signal for a new beginning of policing.

As the scandal developed much focus has been on people who lost their jobs but the real victims are the ordinary citizens whose rights were undermined. We cannot get away from the Government's failure to recognise the gravity of these issues when they were brought to the Taoiseach's attention both by whistleblowers and Deputies from this side of the House. The Taoiseach ridiculed what we said, dismissed our comments and actively undermined our right to bring forward what were quite legitimate concerns. He sought to undermine the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, and he inaccurately quoted the Garda Síochána Act on a number of occasions to misrepresent GSOC's responsibility. He had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to deal with the issue.

Do not get me wrong, as it is good that this happened and there is support for the need for a new and independent Garda authority and the strengthening of GSOC. We have been suggesting this to the Government since we came into this Dáil. I warned the Taoiseach that his unquestioning support for the former Minister for Justice and Equality would bring his own office into disrepute. As he stumbles from one debacle to another - with a scandal per day arising from unfair water taxes to this policing issue - will the Taoiseach acknowledge there is no energy, commitment or intent in the Government for the type of root and branch reform required to deal with the lack of regulation? This concerns charities, banker bonuses and the need for a new beginning with policing. In the second part of the Government's term, it would be a good start to stand up and say how there is an appetite to tackle these issues and that it has learned a lesson from this.

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