Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was asked to take Leaders' Questions a few minutes ago so I was not expecting it. I have no interest in kicking the Taoiseach or the former Tánaiste today. Since 2012, Deputy Clare Daly and I have been trying to highlight the dysfunctional nature of An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice and Equality. While it is an incredible honour to be in this place and to be put here by the people in one's own area, I also find it incredibly frustrating. It is soul destroying watching the games that are played in here by all sides, not just the Government side. Are we ever going to change how we do things in here? We have lost two Commissioners, two Ministers for Justice and Equality and two Secretaries General. There are whistleblowers today who are as well protected as whistleblowers were six, eight or ten years ago. There is no appetite to protect whistleblowers in this country, regardless of which section they come from.

We have not doubted the dysfunctional nature of the Department of Justice and Equality for a long time. We are members of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality. There has been recent discussion of the Communications (Retention of Data) Bill 2017. The hair on your head would stand on end from looking at what the Department is at. Digital Rights Ireland has exposed the Department so much and yet the Department is prepared to go down blind alleys with it that will incur huge costs for the State. We listened to the Ombudsman recently reprimand the Department for its handling of the Magdalen redress scheme. It is mad stuff.

I do not know for how much longer the Taoiseach will be in office. I do not know how in God's name he will rebuild the toxic relationship with the boys on this side of the House. I presume we will have an election before Easter. For however long he remains Taoiseach, be it a month, three months or another five years, I wonder whether there is any chance that we will actually look at everything we do in here and start to take an honest approach to issues and not play games all the time. Can these problems be addressed? Is there any appetite for doing things differently in here? We do not represent the people in here. Last week, during the debate on the Finance Bill, we debated the fact that AIB will not pay corporation tax for 20 years. I would say the majority of people do not even know that. Given that this bank was on its back and dead and the people paid for its recovery, how does this represent the people when it is not what they would want? What is happening with the NAMA inquiry? Will the Department of Finance give the documents to this inquiry or will it behave in a similar manner to that of the Department of Justice and Equality? Is Mr. Justice John Cooke just carrying out a desktop exercise? I still insist that NAMA has cost this State more than €20 billion but I do not think anyone wants to know. What is happening in NAMA is crazy but I do not see anyone with an appetite for the truth about it to come out. Is anything going to change?

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