Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McGrath for his good wishes. I confirm I am not retiring from politics and plan on being around for a while.

We all know that the issues in regard to An Garda Síochána have required to be addressed for a long time, long before the current Government came into office. In the course of a relatively short period of time this year, we have put in place a number of decisions which will radically change the way in which An Garda Síochána is managed and how it reports to the public. The critical pillar in this is the establishment of an independent Garda authority. This is something the Labour Party has been seeking for a long time and I am glad the Government has now made the decision to proceed with it.

The issue of how to deal with whistleblowing is another issue. We have had significant discussion here and in public on how to deal with whistleblowing and whistleblowers. The Government is introducing legislation that will provide protection for people who draw attention to wrong-doing and this legislation will apply to An Garda Síochána. I believe that any member of the Garda who wants to report wrong-doing should be able to do that without fear of any kind of recrimination.

We have also established a number of means by which issues that remain can be worked through, such as the Fennelly commission which will address the issue of the resignation of the former Garda Commissioner and issues surrounding that. The Deputy's question is essentially a legal one. I am not a lawyer so I cannot give him a legal answer. It is important that all of the issues which are being addressed by the Fennelly commission are fully aired and that everybody who has information to give to that commission should do so. This obviously includes the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality.

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