Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this very important issue, albeit only ten minutes. I could speak for a great deal longer, but that is for another day. At the outset, I commend Mr Justice Charleton on identifying Sergeant Maurice McCabe as an innocent victim of circumstances over which he had no control. That is as it should be. Many others, however, have something to answer for.

I took more than a passing interest in the circumstances which led to this inquiry, given that I was a member for many years of the Committee of Public Accounts, the proceedings of which I followed quite closely. I also watched the proceedings in the House. The Government and the Opposition must be responsible at all times and in whatever circumstances they find themselves. On one occasion as I watched the proceedings of the Committee of Public Accounts, however, it was clear to me that there was interaction between some of the witnesses and some of the questioners. That is out of order on two grounds. First, the then Commissioner, Nóirín O'Sullivan, was subjected to a kangaroo court. She was driven out of office by virtue of the various allegations made against her and to which she had, at the time, no way to respond which would have been believed. People were saying they did not believe her, which is an extraordinary thing to do when people are in a quasi-judicial situation. The major casualty was the truth. Everybody was talking about the issues coming down the track and the leaks which every day were becoming more and more convincing. There was cross-questioning of the witness before the committee which took on the appearance of McCarthyism. The witness was questioned again and again to confuse her. She was asked to remember specific incidents on specific days and conversations with various people. I hope those who are responsible will apologise to Ms O'Sullivan for the injustice done to her.

In my time in the House, I have never seen any other public official drummed from office in that fashion. It is a sad reflection on our society and on the House that we allowed it to happen. I hope sincerely that it does not happen again. If it does, no one will want to take up public office, including the office of Garda Commissioner. I remember one day going deliberately to a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts. This was an issue in respect of which the committee had no function whatsoever. The Committee of Public Accounts has no function other than to address financial issues arising from the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General and making decisions and notes in that respect. It has no function as far as inquiries are concerned. The one inquiry it carried out was the DIRT inquiry, and it was legislated for specifically. It worked, although some of us who participated were not very well rewarded in subsequent elections. So much for that. I was appalled at the way the committee conducted the business under discussion tonight and I hope sincerely that corrective action will be taken.

In all things of this nature, two things must prevail, namely, due process and natural justice. Everyone has the right to his or her good name, to be believed, to state his or her case and to maintain his or her position without being ridiculed and confused. Everyone has the right to a fair hearing. In this particular situation, no one was accused directly except by stealth, speculation, innuendo and unsubstantiated allegations. Eventually, matters came to a head and the Commissioner decided to call it a day. It was a sad time. This is a question of natural justice.

In my time on the Committee of Public Accounts we were always warned to ensure that we observed these principles and avoided becoming involved in policy. Whatever the policy of any particular Department, the committee had and still has no function in that area. It should not have a function in that area because that would constitute the setting up of a second Government. That does not and cannot happen.

We also had leaks virtually two or three times per day, each more incriminating than the one before it. It now transpires, thanks to the Charleton tribunal, that these leaks were incorrect, misleading, wrong and false. They were allegations made to do a particular job, namely, to do down a public official. I would be one of the first people to say we should always question public officials forensically. We must, however, have respect for them, the role and public service they perform in society and the need for accountability at all times.

I now turn to the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, who likewise was drummed from office by a kangaroo court, first of the Committee of Public Accounts and then of this House. We were all here at the time, and every effort was made to undermine the then Tánaiste in the carrying out of her job and to lay allegations at her feet that did not stand up. She is now vindicated, but who will apologise to her or to Nóirín O'Sullivan? No one, because it was not done in the interests of society but in the pursuit of politics. People said afterwards, "That is politics." It is not and never was politics. There was a code of honour in this House once upon a time whereby we all tried to do the best we could and tried to ensure we did not offend our neighbour or our opponent. We rose to do the best we could for society and for the House, for Parliament, at any given time, and that worked. Sadly, this has been laid to rest. I do not propose to go through quotations from the various people in this House and outside it during that period. Suffice to say we were treated daily to information that was about to be disclosed, secret information that no one knew about, information to the effect that there was going to be a serious problem and that the Minister would have to resign. It was another kangaroo court and a sad reflection on society, on this House and on our so-called enlightened times.

It was also a sad reflection on the way we now purport to accept the role women play in our society. It was an era we would be better off forgetting because at that time women were persistently pursued by the system that applies in this House and around it. It was without a shadow of a doubt an anti-woman campaign involving An Garda Síochána, the then Commissioner, Noirín O'Sullivan, the then Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality and, in some moments, the Attorney General. The list goes on. I remember every moment of this and I have a number of quotations here that I could easily go through if I wanted to. I want only to remind the people who spoke at that time that they owe the then Minister for Justice and Equality an apology. She was seriously damaged by innuendo, suspicion and an undermining of her in the same way that McCarthyism succeeded in the United States all those years ago. I feel ashamed when I think about the way in which these women were treated. We should offer an apology on behalf of the House to them, at least to give an indication that we, as politicians in this House, do not and will not stand for that kind of thing in any event in respect of any Member of the House, man or woman.

I hope this is the last episode we see of this kind of political assassination. I remember at the time doing interviews. When asked about the matter insofar as the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality was concerned, I said she refused to do what she should not do. She was vindicated. I stand over that comment still. We now wait for those who made all the allegations to come forward and offer their apologies.

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