Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

The opinion poll was conducted by a reputable body. A fact, which Senator Leyden may not take on board, is that in the lead up to it, a judge made a comment that a member of the Garda Síochána prejudiced and perjured himself in court and a Minister of State made a statement that what happened to a constituent was tantamount to torture. Subsequent to those inflammatory comments, this opinion poll was taken. The majority of the people support the Garda Síochána and the poll was unrepresentative for whatever reason. Whoever put a spin on it, or provoked such a spin, let it be on his or her head.

The Garda Síochána has made sacrifices down through the years. Each day a garda puts on his jacket, walks on to the street and polices any part of the country, he is putting his life on the line so I do not think we should give much credence to those who criticise the work of the gardaí so easily. There was the callous murder of Garda McCabe and that of Garda Morley in my province. Many others have been callously slain. At the time we expressed our sorrow to the force and to the families, yet we can turn that on its head and say we cannot support the Garda Síochána in certain areas.

It is important the Minister strikes a balance in the Bill when talking about reform and justice and fairness for everybody. I find it peculiar that the Minister included a section outlining the duties of the gardaí. I thought we all knew the duties of the gardaí and that they were listed. Incorporating that in the Bill seems amazing and I would like to hear the Minister's comments on that rather than those Senator Leyden proffers.