Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have refrained from commenting on the issue with the Minister for Justice and Equality until now as I felt the gravity of the incident depended on the source of the information. I am appalled that the Garda Commissioner passed on politically sensitive information.

The politicisation of the Garda Commissioner's office raises serious questions for the Garda Commissioner as well as for the Minister. The Minister should attend the House and make a statement. Ultimately, people will have to be held accountable for what happened. That is a very bad turn of events.

On the taxation issue, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton made a very good case on the radio this morning, but I agree with Senator Barrett. It is important that there should be a formal response to the findings of the US Senate on this. We can defend the position. Our autonomy and independence gives us the position to decide our own taxation situation and this should not be interfered with from outside.

I attended the hearings of the Joint Committee on Health and Children over the last three days, as did other Members here. A number of Members commented that we got a lot of very valuable information, particularly about the dangers that normalising suicide could have, especially for young males where suicide rates are well above what we would wish them to be. It was unanimously agreed by all the medics who came before us that abortion is never a treatment for suicidality. I was appalled, but not surprised, that a very prominent Labour Party member of the committee clearly informed us that abortion would not be a treatment, but of course the Bill was not about that-----