Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today, the future of policing and justice in the State is at a crossroads. Public confidence in the management of An Garda Síochána has been shattered by scandal after scandal and there is a flagrant lack of accountability and a detached arrogance among the top brass. The extent of the damage done to the Garda cannot be overestimated - it is immense.

This issue is bigger than any political party. It is about the fundamental administration of justice. People across the country in every community are left scratching their heads as they wonder how someone who has messed up so badly and presided over fiasco after fiasco is still in her job. They are wondering how Nóirín O'Sullivan is still the Garda Commissioner. People rightly ask themselves how ordinary rank and file gardaí can be expected to account for their actions when their boss, the top garda in the country, is immune from that same basic standard of accountability. She has been given this immunity by the refusal of the Government, including the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, to act decisively and by Fianna Fáil's refusal to come off the fence.

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