Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That would have been illegal. It would have been a criminal act for me to try to influence the legal strategy of An Garda Síochána. What I did do was to act on behalf of whistleblowers continuously, as did this Government and the previous one. I acted by setting up the tribunal. I acted by referring how An Garda Síochána was dealing with whistleblowers to the independent Policing Authority, so that the way that whistleblowers were dealt with would be stronger and clearer. I asked the authority to look at the policy in place in An Garda Síochána and how it was dealing with whistleblowers so that they would be dealt with better. I raised the issue of the supports that Sergeant Maurice McCabe was getting. I asked if he was getting one-to-one support and whether he was being helped to deal with the various issues. I asked if his requests in relation to various personal issues which I do not want to mention here were being dealt with properly. On every occasion, publicly and privately, I raised issues about how whistleblowers were being dealt with to make sure that they were getting the best possible supports within An Garda Síochána.

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