Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I start by voicing my deep concern and disquiet at the way Fianna Fáil has acted to undermine the Sinn Féin motion which was scheduled for tomorrow. I believe its actions are purely political and not in the best interests of citizens or of resolving the many issues surrounding this topic. People can see right through its games.

As Deputy Jonathan O'Brien said, this is a detailed motion that does very little. It does not address one of the key issues which needs fixing, namely, the removal of the Garda Commissioner from office. The public are fed up of controversy after controversy in the Garda and it is time for a change in management. In no other organisation or business would the chief executive remain in position after such outrageous revelations. At this stage, one has to ask how bad things have to become before something is done about it. The Garda Commissioner cannot sit back, take responsibility for totally unacceptable mismanagement and then continue as if her apology fixes everything. It does not.

The most recent revelations are in addition to the many that have come before and they are now harming the very fabric of the Garda Síochána, which is unacceptable. Public confidence in the Garda is on the floor and it is not fair on the public or the many thousands of hard-working gardaí to allow this fiasco to continue. It beggars belief that the Garda Commissioner has not resigned, and it is equally incomprehensible to me and to many other people as to why the Government does not ask or demand that she does so.

Following the publication of the Fennelly report this week, the revelations of the taping of telephone calls does not even shock people. That is what is most shocking - that it does not shock people at all as they have become accustomed to what seems like the weekly revelation of wrongdoing. There is the wiping of penalty points, the outrageous treatment of whistleblowers, phantom breath tests, wrongful convictions and financial irregularities in Templemore - the list goes on and on.

We now have the bizarre situation where Fianna Fáil, despite saying it cannot express confidence in the Commissioner, is still refusing to take the necessary action for fear it might trigger an election. Fianna Fáil has the opportunity to put this issue to bed, start the process of reforming the Garda from the top down and begin restoring confidence in policing in the State. Instead of acting on this, it chose to play political games but this is to its detriment and I think people will see right through it. We should not be standing here making statements on the matter. The public's anger is evident and the solution is clear, but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael put their interests ahead of everything else.

The Minister concluded by saying it takes courage to be a member of An Garda Síochána, on which I agree with her. I have worked with the Garda on a number of community groups and the joint policing committees and I know it does valuable work. However, the Minister also needs to have courage when a whistleblower comes forward. Deputy after Deputy has stood up in the Dáil for as long as I have been elected and told her that whistleblowers who come forward are not being looked after properly and have huge concerns about coming forward, but that is not being addressed.

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