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

Last Friday, I read in The Irish Timesabout an extraordinary letter from the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, to party colleagues in relation to a number of matters. Principally, the letter stated that the Minister of State would not stand over a Taoiseach firing a Garda Commissioner without so much as a phone call to the leader of the Labour Party. That is a very serious assertion by a Government Minister. Has the Taoiseach spoken to Deputy White about that assertion and does he agree with what he said about the removal of the Garda Commissioner? I have been asking for ten weeks for a candid and truthful account from the Taoiseach in regard to the reason he sent the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality to the home of the Garda Commissioner on that fateful Monday evening prior to the Cabinet meeting, which in itself was an unprecedented move and which sources close to the former Garda Commissioner say left him in no doubt and with no option in regard to what was expected by the Taoiseach. This is a serious issue. The process to be followed with regard to the departure of a Garda Commissioner is laid out in law. The Garda Commissioner can only be removed by the Cabinet. Essentially, the Taoiseach set in train a series of events to remove the former Garda Commissioner without telling the Tánaiste or his Cabinet colleagues.

The Minister of State, Deputy White, has confirmed and said what the public believe to be the truth. For some reason, the Taoiseach will not come into this House and tell the truth and be candid with us as to the actions he took. This is a serious issue that goes to the very core of faith in the public service.

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