Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----but it does mean that he or she should not be subjected to the same kind of political attacks as politicians are, namely, votes of no confidence in Chambers where he or she does not sit and cannot even respond or defend himself or herself.

The Opposition has not just made a mistake in trying to drag the Attorney General into this artificial contest to attack the Government. It has also exposed a dangerous lack of understanding about the Constitution and how it is protected. Fianna Fáil used to boast that it was a "slightly constitutional" party. Sinn Féin has been so desperate to steal its clothes and, indeed, votes, that it seems to have stolen this as well, except that Sinn Féin is more accurately a slightly unconstitutional party. For too many years, it tried to subvert the Constitution. Now, it damages by accident where once it tried to do so by design.

This motion is a tired distraction from a bored and frustrated Opposition, one with no vision or programme and possessed only of carping negativity. Its only desire is to court popularity by being all things to all people, offering to get rid of taxes and spend more on every worthy project but with no plan on how to fund that. As the one-time ally - Syriza in Greece - of some on the Opposition benches has found out, government requires that one take realistic positions and decisions.

We in the Government have full confidence in the Taoiseach and the Attorney General. We stand over the inquiry that has vindicated them. We vote to set aside this distraction from the business of government and from the concerns of people. We reject the distorted claims of the Opposition, we reject a motion that was born out of ignorance, and we have answered it with the facts.

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