Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

What is the Government's opinion of the proceedings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality and in particular the evidence of the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality? I raised the point yesterday in advance of the meeting because it was very clear to anyone who was interested that Mr. Purcell would not answer questions on the commission of inquiry, led by Mr. Justice Nial Fennelly, into matters arising from the resignation or forced retirement of the former Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan.

It beggars belief that the Taoiseach will not answer questions on his role in the matter publicly. I asked him about this here some weeks ago. It was he who sent Mr. Purcell to meet the former Garda Commissioner. He can tell us what he asked him to say. Yesterday, a long-serving senior civil servant was thrown under the bus to save the Taoiseach. It is incredible that a Secretary General refuses to answer questions before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. How does that bode for the banking inquiry the Government wants to set up? What does it say to witnesses who will come before that inquiry, when they see someone in the employ of the State not answering questions from elected Members of both Houses, who represent the people? It is my view that he has been told not to answer those questions. This will be the end of this Government. The Taoiseach sent Mr. Purcell to the former Garda Commissioner’s house. What did he ask him to say? The Taoiseach will not answer that question publicly, to the media or in these Houses. He has said instead that he will co-operate fully with the Fennelly inquiry.

Three inquiries will cost a minimum of €2 million. Last week, I mentioned a drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, fampyra, which costs €264 a month. It keeps people mobile, independent and active. From next July this Government will stop paying for that drug. It would cost €3,000 per annum to give a person independence and improve their quality of life yet the Taoiseach feels it is right not to answer questions and to insist on waiting for the report of the Fennelly inquiry. Three inquiries will cost €2 million. What does the Government say to people suffering with multiple sclerosis when it removes this important drug from the drug payment scheme because the Health Service Executive, HSE, and the Department of Health cannot afford it? The Taoiseach can afford a €2 million cloak in the form of three inquiries.

What happened yesterday evening is extremely serious but how can we expect Mr. Purcell to answer questions if the leader of the country will not answer questions about his role in a debacle that has brought the justice system to its knees? It is an extremely serious situation. Senator Paul Coghlan can shake his head all he likes.