Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, to her new post and wish her well with her responsibilities. It is a big challenge.

This is a report to the Taoiseach entitled "Review of the action taken by An Garda Síochána pertaining to certain allegations made by Sergeant Maurice McCabe", by Seán Guerin, SC, of 6 May 2014. The first page of his conclusions, page 329, captures to an important degree the essence of the conclusions that follow. It states, at paragraph 20.1, under conclusions and recommendations, "In any organization whose members face the significant daily challenges and pressures that must be borne by those whose duty it is to ensure the security of the State and the safety of its citizens, a critical voice is in danger of being heard as a contrary voice." That could apply to the two political parties that form the Government. It is the duty of the leaders of these parties to ensure the security of the State and the safety of its citizens.

The report continues:

The paradigm of the whistle-blower is an unattractive one. The whistle-blower, like the referee from whom he gets his name, is seen as someone who is not on the team. The challenge of accommodating and learning from legitimate criticism is always going to be a difficult one, especially in a disciplined force.

An Garda Síochána is the protector of the peace. Its function is to ensure the security of the State and the safety of its citizens. It operates through a chain of command, orders and instructions; therefore, it is sometimes very hard to understand the philosophical necessity to have a critique of that chain of command. Blind and unquestioned obedience comes to mind and orders and instructions are pervasive. I will use that analogy to discuss the political parties and what the experience has been in this Dáil. There has been unquestioned and unchallenged obedience with the Whip system in certain debates and situations that merited justified criticism. We have the Economic Management Council, which is a new method of controlling the Cabinet. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform are dominant through their frequent meetings and policy making for the country and through their influence on the Cabinet, which is constitutionally supposed to be a democratic collective decision-making body. We have seen from certain legislative measures, the most recent of which was the proposal last year to abolish the Seanad-----

See this speech in context