Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

By its actions, Sinn Féin has deprived the people of Northern Ireland of proper political representation at this crucial time in the Brexit process and I will not let it do the same in this State. Sinn Féin's motion was prompted, we are told, by the Government's decision to establish a commission of investigation into very serious allegations centred on an alleged smear campaign against a serving garda. When one reflects on the history of that party's relationship with An Garda Síochána over the years and its shameful handling of sexual abuse claims in its own movement, it has a brass neck to call for a general election on these issues.

I want to make it clear to the House that the Government's sole objective in responding to the recent protracted disclosures has been and remains to get to the full truth of all these allegations. The false allegations against Sergeant Maurice McCabe are simply appalling. Sexual abuse is the worst crime a person could be accused of. He and his family deserve the truth, as do all against whom allegations have been made. I, therefore, offer a full apology to Maurice McCabe and his family for the treatment meted out to them as exposed in recent programmes. This must be done in finding the truth in a way that is transparent to the public but also fair to all concerned. The Government has decided that a full tribunal of inquiry is the only way it can be achieved. Intensive work is under way on the terms of reference and I hope the House will support the proposal so the work of the inquiry can commence without delay.

I reject any suggestion the Government has not supported Garda whistleblowers. I remind the House the Government ensured all Sergeant McCabe's previous allegations were investigated. They included the reports on the penalty points which were published and the Guerin report into policing issues in Cavan and Monaghan which led in turn to the O'Higgins commission of investigation. I am pleased in each of these instances the inquiries largely vindicated Sergeant McCabe concerns and his complains. It includes the recent inquiry by Mr. Justice O'Neill into the allegations of a smear campaign arising from two protected disclosures. Last week, we proposed a further commission of investigation, chaired by Mr. Justice Charlton of the Supreme Court, accepting the terms of reference drawn up by Mr. Justice O'Neill. Now that will be transformed into a full tribunal of inquiry.

The issues raised by Sergeant McCabe and others also led to significant reforms by the Government, including the establishment of an independent police authority for the first time in the history of the State. We legislated for the protection of whistleblowers and empowered GSOC to receive complaints from serving gardaí. In response to proposals from the Independent Alliance group, we have agreed to appoint without delay an independent international policing expert to carry out a thorough investigation into the wider and more fundamental issues of public concern which have emerged relating to the administration, ethos and culture of An Garda Síochána, and this work will augment the ongoing issues by the Policing Authority and the Garda Síochána Inspectorate.

I recognise the long-term commitment of Independent Alliance colleagues acting in the interests of the McCabe family and the cause of whistleblowers. Their charter for change states unequivocally that Garda whistleblowers have been treated shamefully and a complete overhaul of the justice system is necessary. I hope the work of the tribunal of inquiry will also contribute to the ongoing process of policing reform, which is absolutely necessary in the public interest.

There has been much comment on my brief contact with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone. I have corrected the public record in this regard. On 24 January, one of the Minister's officials told my office she intended to meet Sergeant McCabe. That was relayed to me. On 7 February, in a brief informal conversation as the Cabinet meeting of that day was about to commence, the Minister mentioned she had met Sergeant McCabe about false allegations of sexual abuse that had been made to Tusla about him. She did not go into the details of her meeting with Sergeant and Mrs. McCabe or into Tusla's gross mishandling of the issue. She quite rightly respected his right to privacy and confidentiality regarding very sensitive matters.

It was absolutely clear to me these allegations would be fully covered by Mr. Justice O'Neill's draft terms of reference as allegations of criminal misconduct against Sergeant McCabe, as these are at the very core of the proposed commission's remit. In fact, it was Mr. Justice O'Neill who carried out a thorough examination of the two protected disclosures and prepared his draft terms on the basis of covering all the issues he believed needed to be investigated. This was later confirmed by Mr. Justice Peter Charlton, who stated all the allegations revealed in the "Prime Time" programme are, in fact, covered by the original draft terms of reference.

I also acknowledge I was mistaken in my account of the sequence of contacts with the Minister, Deputy Zappone. This was an unintentional error for which I have already apologised to the House. However, I will not and do not apologise for my record as Taoiseach when it comes to child protection. I appointed the first Cabinet-level Minister with responsibility for children in the history of the State. In responding to the Cloyne report I expressed the revulsion felt by very many people at the gross failure of the Catholic Church to protect children and punish abusers. I ensured a referendum was held to enshrine the rights of our children in our Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, and that the Children First guidelines were put on a statutory footing. There is much more work to be done and many more challenges to be met.

An election is the last thing the country needs less than a year after the last one. At a time of huge international uncertainty we need stability. In a few short weeks the formal negotiations on Brexit will begin. Ireland is well prepared for this process but we need to hit the ground running as soon as Article 50 is triggered. Our programme for Government is based on a clear principle to use the fruits of a strong and well-managed economy to improve the daily lives of our people. That plan is working. The economy is growing strongly. This morning, I had the privilege of announcing a further 500 jobs with an international firm in Dublin. Last year, more than 1,000 jobs a week we were created and a further 45,000 new jobs are expected later this year. We continue to invest in tackling the very serious challenges in the health service. The housing and homelessness crisis is probably the most difficult legacy of the collapse of the housing bubble which we inherited back in 2011. Bringing housing supply back to sustainable levels and stabilising the rental sector has been a slow process but we have a clear plan and that plan will overcome and deal with this particular challenge.

Our prudent management of the public finances means we are on course to have a balanced budget by 2018. We recently began work on a national planning framework, which is essential if we are to achieve balanced regional and rural development. This will be underpinned by a new ten-year national capital plan, which will set out the key infrastructural investments needed to support a post-Brexit Irish economy. The delivery of these and other initiatives in the programme for Government is what the country needs to meet the very real challenges ahead, not political stunts by the Sinn Féin Party. I commend the motion to the House.

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