Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Following the calamity of the economic crash under the last Fianna Fáil-led Government, the Fine Gael and Labour parties assumed office with a huge mandate for political change. The new Government had the chance and, in particular, the support of the majority of citizens in making a new beginning. Ach mar a d'fhoghlaim muintir an Stáit seo go daor - níor tharla arthrú ar bith. This is clear in the scandal surrounding the departure of the former Garda Commissioner.

Although the Fennelly report deals with a number of issues relating to the crisis within An Garda Síochána, including a damning indictment of the Attorney General, the most controversial aspect of the investigation is whether the Taoiseach sacked former Garda Commissioner Callinan. This is a serious allegation. The Taoiseach has always denied sacking him. Under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the power to remove the Commissioner from his or her position can only be exercised by the Cabinet. For the Taoiseach to act alone would undoubtedly be an abuse of power. It would also be unlawful. Mr. Callinan stepped down just hours after a late night visit ordered by An Taoiseach to his home by the then Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality, Mr. Brian Purcell. We now know that this visit was the "immediate catalyst" for the Commissioner's resignation. The Taoiseach, in sending Mr. Purcell against Mr. Purcell's best instincts to Mr. Callinan's home, in effect sacked the Commissioner. The commission found that the visit of Mr. Purcell to the Commissioner's home was "an event without precedent". It concluded: "when all circumstances are viewed objectively, the mission on which Mr Purcell was being sent was liable to be interpreted as suggesting to the Commissioner that he should consider his position." It is accepted by the commission that Mr. Purcell explained to the Commissioner that the Taoiseach may not have been in a position to be able to express confidence in the Commissioner following the next day's Cabinet meeting. The Tánaiste of the day, Deputy Gilmore, stated that the Taoiseach told him that this was his position. The Taoiseach denies this.

The Fennelly commission also accepted that Commissioner Callinan had "no option but to retire". Although the commission report states that the decision to retire was still the Commissioner's to make, "the Commissioner was not wrong to arrive at the conclusion that he was expected to consider his position". The visit of Mr. Purcell is described by the commission as the "immediate catalyst" and "direct cause" for the Garda Commissioner's decision to retire. The interim report tells of how the Taoiseach refused to allow the Commissioner time to clear his desk, as the latter had requested. The Taoiseach demanded that he go immediately.

When the Government published the report recently but before we and journalists had sight of it, the Taoiseach was doing interviews on this issue with journalists who had not read about what he was discussing. It was a classic case of media management. Is this the transparent government that Fine Gael and Labour promised? Is this the end of the old-style politics, which they were mandated to do?

The dubious actions of the Taoiseach and his inner circle in the events leading to the resignation of the former Garda Commissioner leads to unavoidable comparisons with the Fianna Fáil style of government. Let us be clear, in that Sinn Féin would not have objected or complained had the Taoiseach gone to the Cabinet and moved a motion seeking the Garda Commissioner's resignation, given the months of scandals and revelations leading up to the actual retirement. This would be the view of the majority of citizens. That is what the Taoiseach should have done. He should have given the Commissioner the opportunity to give his side of the story. He should have consulted the Minister for Justice and Equality, but he did none of these things. He was not straight with the Commissioner or the Minister. That is my main point.

The Taoiseach carried this lack of straightness into his remarks today.

He has yet to tell Members how many times he was interviewed by the Fennelly commission. Most of what has been revealed to the Fennelly commission was not reported to the Dáil. Most of what Members have learned was not learned here, where they are supposed to keep the Government accountable, but through reading this interim report. On this basis alone, Sinn Féin has no confidence in An Taoiseach or the Attorney General.

However, it also has no confidence in the Government because the Taoiseach has made it clear repeatedly that he remains ideologically wedded to a destructive austerity agenda that is doing much damage to society when what is needed is a complete change in political direction. This society now faces a choice and the fundamental ideological difference between Sinn Féin and the deeply unpopular Government is that Sinn Féin believes in a real republic and a citizen-centred rights-based society.

The Government's budgets have been among the most regressive in the State's history. Society has become increasingly polarised under Fine Gael and the Labour Party. One third of children now live in consistent poverty. The crises in housing and health have escalated to an alarming degree. The disastrous economic policies initiated by Fianna Fáil and continued by Fine Gael and the Labour Party have seen more than €30 billion taken out of the economy in taxes and cuts.

Moreover, the Government's mantra that we are all in this together is a monstrous untruth. Many citizens have suffered greatly, while those who were protected again are first in line to benefit under the Government. Those being forced to pay the price for Government policies are families on lower and middle incomes. Those paying the price are families who have been impoverished by the family home tax, the universal social charge and water charges.

The Government, like others before it, has embraced forced emigration as a policy. Half a million people, with huge damage societally to communities and families, have been forced to emigrate since 2008.

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