Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We do not expect our amendments to be accepted; that is what happens in here. It is good that we get a chance to discuss them, however, except in the case of those that are ruled out of order.

It would be great if there were a rethink of how the policing authority is being set up. It really could represent a breakthrough but it will not in its current form. There will actually be no change at all. If the Government does nothing else in its remaining term in office, it should talk to Dr. Vicky Conway and Professor Dermot Walsh, who know more about this than any of us. We are not asking the Government to talk to us. The Government should determine what the experts think about how best to move forward. Time spent talking to them would be time well spent. We will not be crowing, "We won, we won." We want things to be done right and do not give out about policing for the sake of it. It would be great if things were different. Dr. Conway and Professor Walsh could make a huge contribution and the Government should listen to them. It is not too late. I admit it would be unorthodox to talk to them. I do not have a problem with unorthodoxy, as the Minister of State might suspect, and believe the Government should buy into my philosophy on this occasion.

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