Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for attending the House to debate this motion which deals with an important issue. Unfortunately, we are in the realm of "I told you so." The Minister came into the Dáil and the Seanad last June with all guns blazing and it subsequently emerged that the judge felt those blazing guns posed a threat to his independence. The Minister referred to the families involved, but he failed to mention the criticism of him from that quarter. Neither has he discussed how that criticism was dealt with. For our part, we compliment Judge Smithwick who has been doing a good job. His private hearings have been shown to be absolutely necessary. He is hearing from a lot of witnesses and much information is coming to light. We wish him well and look forward to hearing further from him. In the meantime, we know that we will hear plenty in the media on the public hearings. It is up to the judge himself to come to his own conclusions.

We will support the motion, but we have laid down a significant marker in that the motion, as important as it is, needs to be debated and the reasons for it need to be put before Seanad Éireann. I am grateful to my colleagues on the Government side who agree with me. I will not assign blame to anyone, but this is such an important issue that it cannot be rubber-stamped by the House. Let us wish the judge well and assure him of our belief in his independence and the quality of the report that will emanate from the tribunal.