Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. If there are deficiencies, we all want them dealt with. We accept that major work is being done by gardaí and many others.

To come back to where I began with this, I was struck by the Tánaiste's claim that the justice system is not functioning well enough. That is a strange statement, given his own role in facilitating Fine Gael's 13-year tenure in the justice Ministry, including the Minister's term of office. We have overcrowded prisons, delays in court and a crisis in the context of numbers. We all know the morale issues affecting An Garda Síochána. The Tánaiste has voted and expressed confidence in Fine Gael justice Ministers. He is now attempting to distance himself from the consequence of his party's role in the operation of the justice system.

I wish to pose a number of questions about a matter I raised previously. Will the Minister address the issue RTÉ raised concerning the use of fraudulent peace commissioner signature stamps? When did she become aware of this issue? What did she do about it? These are simple questions.

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