Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)

Gardaí who are corrupt, who pervert the course of justice over and over and over again, should not be awarded a medal of bravery for one act.

There was no need. He could have been excluded from the award and the other gardaí could have been presented with their awards. What happened to zero tolerance for gender-based violence when the gardaí who are meant to deal with it are guilty of it themselves? There is a high rate, unfortunately, of intimate partner violence among the police and armies internationally. That is a statistic. Apparently, there have been 60 cases involving sexual misconduct in the last three years in An Garda Síochána. Will the Taoiseach call in the Garda Commissioner? I know it was the former Garda Commissioner who presented this but will the Taoiseach consider revoking this award and sending a message to gardaí and to people in general that violence against women is not acceptable? This garda should not have got an award. He should be in jail. Why is he not in jail? Do no rules apply to gardaí who commit crime?

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