Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It was 12 years ago, I think, that my colleague, Brendan Howlin, and a former Deputy, Jim Higgins, were given information in regard to disturbing issues concerning gardaí in County Donegal. Deputy McGrath's party, Fianna Fáil, was in power at the time and it took it two years to respond to those issues and to establish the Morris tribunal, which met over a long period of time. When that tribunal reported, Fianna Fáil effectively did nothing about the report.

Problems in An Garda Síochána did not start when this Government came into office. Problems in the Garda did not start six months ago. The difference now is that the Government has acted in order to address the issues. Within the space of a number of months, we have made changes to the management, the structures around the Garda, to the way in which it reports and to the establishment of means of getting to the bottom of issues that require to be fully investigated. We have done this in a space of time that Fianna Fáil did not do when in government. If we set up a commission and ask it to do a job, it should be allowed to do its work. I do not have any doubt but that the Fennelly commission will do its job and that anybody who has information to give to that commission will give the full information and there will be no question in regard to information or the truth being made fully available.

It goes beyond the question of information and what is being told to a commission.

It is also about what we do about it. We have had repeated investigations of one kind or another. Tribunals have been set up here and tribunals have been set up there. They go on for years and by the time they are finished nobody can remember why they were set up in the first place.

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