Brendan Ryan (Labour)

In October 2001 a large number of letters arrived in Leinster House. They were in a large, addressed envelope which was sealed but not franked. However, the letters it contained were franked. Because of the anthrax scare they were taken away by the Garda, opened, kept in its possession and used as evidence to charge a member of the force with a breach of discipline. I understand the charge has been dropped which is the reason I feel free to raise the matter now. I raise it in public because if I was do so in private, I would be liable to the Garda wanting to sequester my telephone records to find out my source. I have to do it this way to ensure any communication I had with a person involved in the matter is privileged.

My colleague, Senator O'Meara, was cited in evidence because the letter to her was examined by a Garda handwriting expert who said it was the handwriting of the garda accused of a breach of discipline. Where did the Garda Síochána get the authority to take letters to Members of the Oireachtas and bring them to Garda headquarters for use as evidence in a disciplinary hearing against a member of the force without the knowledge of Members of these Houses? I want to have the matter clarified.

Before I come to today's Order of Business, I want to mention Rachel Corrie who was deliberately killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza last week. She was an American peace activist who sat in front of the bulldozer and eyewitness accounts make perfectly clear it was no accident. If it had happened in Baghdad, the world would have been screaming in outrage, quite rightly.