Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

"If she won't resign, he needs to take her out." Those are the words of a Member of the Front Bench of a party that claims it wants to be in government after the next election. It is well the Deputy hangs her head in shame this evening with words like that. If a male Member of this House said that about a woman in this House, he would be gone. More shame on Deputy McDonald for tolerating that sort of behaviour on her Front Bench, the threatening language used against a woman Minister for Justice who has given her life in service, which is far more than I hear from the Deputies opposite, with apology, apology and apology, and for what? It is for the 22 children in this State who grew up fatherless because of the dead gardaí who were put into early graves by Sinn Féin's sister organisation. It is well that you may shake your head. We are here this evening to talk about An Garda Síochána. In my constituency, a man was riddled on the side of the street. What happened to his killers?

They were driven out of Castlerea Prison like heroes by a former member of Sinn Féin's Front Bench. For Sinn Féin to come in here and lecture anyone in this House about its new-found interest in An Garda Síochána is nauseating, to put it very mildly.

We know of Sinn Féin's recent attachment to certain members of the council who have frequency in the Special Criminal Court. We all know about that. We also know about its disdain for the Special Criminal Court. Why would it not have disdain for it; it has locked up more people connected to that party than to any other organisation in this State.

Tonight's motion has spectacularly backfired on Sinn Féin. If you talk to anybody around the country, they are disgusted that Sinn Féin would link the atrocious attack on a young girl to the resignation of the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner. They need to take a long look at themselves.

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