David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Everything has changed since the Charleton tribunal was established. The last two weeks have obviously been very problematic for everybody, especially the Government. Everything has changed, except the terms of reference relating to the tribunal. Those who have spoken against the motion miss the point entirely. We have read the terms of reference line by line. Nothing in those terms of reference allows Mr. Justice Charleton to investigate whether there was a cover-up, whether there was suppression or withholding of documentation by senior Department of Justice and Equality officials or whether this was a collaborative approach by senior gardaí, politicians and senior departmental officials.

The Government has not got its head around this simple fact. There was a vicious campaign and a legal strategy constructed by very powerful people in senior positions in An Garda Síochána to build a legal defence around something they knew to be a lie in order to discredit a whistleblower. They did so because that whistleblower came forward and alleged wrongdoing in An Garda Síochána. The solution from their perspective was to circle the wagons and attack the credibility of the person who brought forward the information. We saw exactly the same in the case of the Garda College in Templemore, where the approach was to attack the internal auditors and not face up to the reality of the problem.

Again today we see the Government circling the wagons because it does not want the tribunal to be able to examine the very serious allegations of whether there was a cover-up. It seems that no lessons have been learned. On Friday and Saturday last, we again saw a circling of the wagons by the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to ensure there was not political accountability. Only on Monday, when it became absolutely clear that the former Tánaiste's position was untenable, was there movement. When it was clear from social media, from the media and from the political commentary that her position was absolutely untenable, only then did it become clear to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that their plan to circle the wagons had become unstuck. That is the reality and we are seeing more of it here today.

The Minister and the Government have a choice. They can continue to work with their counterparts in Fianna Fáil to circle the wagons or they can amend the terms of reference to ensure Mr. Justice Charleton has the power to investigate whether there was a cover-up. The Minister and others have said that it is for Mr. Justice Charleton to decide whether he needs more powers. It is up to the Oireachtas to set terms of reference. The Minister and his party have been playing fast and loose with the rules of this House in recent weeks, claiming that people in the House who introduced motions of no-confidence should not be able to do so that they are playing games, and we are simply doing our job. The same thing is happening here today. The Minister is the one playing the games, as are his Government colleagues and, also, Fianna Fáil at times. He should stop the game playing. He should stand behind the whistleblower in this case. He should stand behind what is right and amend the terms of reference. Let us for the first time on this issue establish the truth and the facts.

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