Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Contrary to the Taoiseach's assertion a moment ago, the Comptroller and Auditor General is not examining this issue. In fact, it was kept from him. Yesterday, I raised these matters with the Taoiseach and the fact that John Barrett, the head of Garda human resources, had handed over documentation to the Committee of Public Accounts that completely contradicts the evidence provided to the committee by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan last Thursday. I raised that along with a raft of other scandals that have shaped Ms O'Sullivan's leadership of An Garda Síochána and, once again, the Taoiseach expressed his confidence in the Commissioner and he did that again a moment ago.

Last night the details of the 122-page document provided by Mr. Barrett emerged in the public domain. The information provided is damning. Mr. Barrett states that the actions taken by senior gardaí in response to financial irregularities at Templemore would be seen as a cover-up. The financial irregularities include how moneys generated from various Garda College areas were moved outside the purview of the normal accounting practices and into some 42 unauthorised accounts. Mr. Barrett further claims that Garda auditors were purposely kept in the dark about what was happening. The Garda Commissioner has claimed she was not aware of the scale of the irregularities two years ago. She said it was mentioned in a brief chat. However, the documents provided by Mr. Barrett support his position that he first raised these concerns about financial irregularities at Templemore in July 2015 with Commissioner O'Sullivan, Assistant Commissioner John Twomey and the head of Garda legal affairs, Ken Ruane. The meeting was a detailed discussion that lasted for over two hours. Mr. Barrett also claims that Commissioner O'Sullivan failed to act on advice from the head of Garda legal affairs to inform the Minister for Justice and Equality about the irregularities discussed in July 2015.

The Commissioner does not have flexibility. She has a statutory obligation to do so under the Garda Síochána Act, yet the Minister remained silent this morning. In fact, the Minister remains absent this afternoon. As I told the Taoiseach yesterday, accountability or the lack of it is the key issue underpinning all of these controversies and scandals. That goes to the heart of public alienation in public life and politics, and disillusionment with State agencies. This is unacceptable. What is happening is a waste of taxpayers' money. It is all the more alarming because An Garda Síochána is the body that is supposed to be enforcing the law. Those are not my words, they are the words of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, this morning.

The fact is that there is no accountability for those in high places. Can one imagine a poor, powerless person getting away with even a smidgen of these offences? My question to the Taoiseach is simple. He says he has confidence in the Commissioner and maybe he has good reason for that. We do not know it or share that, but he should explain to us why he has confidence in the leadership of An Garda Síochána.

See this speech in context