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

The Taoiseach did not answer the questions I asked. Why did the Garda Commissioner not inform the Policing Authority? The Taoiseach spoke in his reply about the close oversight of the Policing Authority. It appears the authority was not informed. It is incredible. Under this radical new reform, the body that will take politics out of An Garda Síochána was not told.

Yesterday, we were told this was an administrative oversight. That is not credible. I asked the Taoiseach whether he could defend that. How does he explain it? Does the Taoiseach believe it is right that the Policing Authority was not informed?

I also asked the Taoiseach when the Minister for Justice and Equality was informed about all this. This has been going on since 2014. In 2015, Professor Cusack said that instead of 200,000 cases being recorded, the Garda had indicated that the figure was 400,000. It is clear to all and sundry that something is seriously wrong on a large scale with the data emanating from An Garda Síochána, but nothing has happened.

I am insisting that the Minister for Justice and Equality comes before the Dáil today to answer questions, not during the Topical Issue debate or anything like that. It should be done under private notice questions or some other context. The Minister should answer questions from the House in respect of this matter. It has been rather opaque so far in respect of the information leaking from An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice and Equality. We need far more transparency and serious accountability arising from these issues compared with what we have had up to now.

See this speech in context