Seanad debates

Thursday, 8 May 2014

12:20 pm

Photo of Mark DalyMark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, too, would like to welcome the appointment of Deputy Fitzgerald as Minister for Justice and Equality. When she was a Member of this House, she was fair and equitable and it is great to see that, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Cuman na mBan, the Minister for Justice and Equality, the acting Garda Commissioner, the Deputy Leader of the Seanad and the Attorney General are women. I think Countess Markievicz is probably smiling down on all of them. As I said, Deputy Fitzgerald is a fair person and listens to people.

The issue here is about whistleblowing and how we treat whistleblowers. In 2004, the Irish Bank Officials Association asked for protection for whistleblowers in the financial system. At that time the response from the officials through the Minister was that we needed more comprehensive legislation when it came to protecting whistleblowers. When the financial crisis happened, there was no protection for financial whistleblowers, or for any whistleblowers. There is still no protection for whistleblowers, so we must ask why. The reality is that those at the top, those senior civil servants in the various Departments, do not want whistleblowers protected or rewarded but want to punish them. Those gardaí blew the whistle on the activities within the Garda Síochána.

Let us be honest in that what happened in the Garda Síochána was a disgrace not because people got off penalty points but because those who got off penalty points were not taken off the road and went on to kill people. They should have been off the road at the time. As we saw from newspaper reports about what is in the report, which saw Deputy Shatter resign as Minister, when the Garda did not act against people they went on to murder citizens. They should have been in prison but the Garda did not act. If we do not reward and encourage whistleblowers, then the illegal activities will continue. The senior civil servants who do not want whistleblowing in their Departments or in Irish society have prevented and frustrated legislation coming forward which would not only protect the whistleblowers but would reward them.

I welcome Deputy Shatter's resignation as Minister because while he carried out reforms, as was pointed out by others opposite, he was an arrogant Minister. He did not listen and he became entrapped by the civil servants on whom he relied to give him the information and did not question them. I know Deputy Fitzgerald will be a Minister who will question information given to her and she will not be a slave to the civil servants. Deputy Shatter relied entirely on his civil servants but he should have relied first and foremost on his own judgment. Instead of punishing whistleblowers, he should have welcomed them because what they have done has been of far more service to this State than what he has done.

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