Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion proposed by Sinn Féin. It must be acknowledged by everybody that there are many good gardaí and that a lot of good work is done throughout the country. Unfortunately, we have moved from scandal to scandal and problem to problem. This is doing no good to either Garda morale or the public because many people raise eyebrows every time they hear statistics or details of another whistleblower's case. I have said that it is not about the person. Nobody has a vendetta against people. It is about the position of Commissioner, which needs to be performed credibly. It has been said all week that what happens in the Dáil and whatever way a vote goes will not remove a Commissioner. I heard reports in the media during the week that the Government had received advice that it would a cost a phenomenal amount of money to get rid of a Commissioner. However, if we look over what has happened in recent years - between penalty points, the statistics that came out in the past few weeks and the case of summonses where ordinary people will now have to clear their names - we can see that the figure will be in the millions and possibly tens of millions. The problem is that the current Commissioner was by the side of the previous Commissioner and agreed with everything he said. All I can say is that I support the Sinn Féin motion.

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