Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to welcome the One Young World Summit 2014 to Dublin. Members may be aware that Dublin put in a bid and the aforementioned summit is being held here. Members are in the presence of a group of young people this morning and really, this is about bringing leadership and encouraging young people to take their place in the world and to allow their voices to be heard in respect of leadership. They are the leaders of the future and it is good to see some of the older mentors, such as Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof in Dublin to share their thoughts and wisdom with these young people. It is a good day and a good place to have them.

On a number of occasions I have raised matters relating to the special investigations unit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. While I accept that it has been disbanded, I am concerned about its legacy. If the Minister finds it difficult to attend the House because of the nature of the issues that led to the unit's disbanding, he may need to put in place an investigation into its legacy. The unit operated for many years, behaved like a private hit squad and effectively ruined the lives and reputations of a number of farmers. It is not enough just to disband the unit; we must examine its legacy and what it did. The confidence that the Department's new investigations division needs will not exist if the old system has not been thoroughly interrogated in a fashion that gives results and shows that there is nothing to hide. If there were problems, let us know what they were. Otherwise, we will not change or learn.