Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I extend my sympathy and that of the Sinn Féin Party to the families of Captain Mark Duffy and Captain Dara Fitzpatrick. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anam dílis. I commend the continuing efforts of all those involved in the recovery of R116 to reunite Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith with their families. I hope that will happen before too long. I am proud of my local community in Blacksod Bay on the Erris Peninsula for their hard work and solidarity with the families of the crew of R116 in the past 14 days.

This week there has been yet another dent in public confidence in An Garda Síochána. People are completely bamboozled by how the figures for breath tests could have been exaggerated by 937,000 and how 14,700 people could have been wrongfully convicted of motoring offences. If this was a one-off systems failure that could be dealt with in an efficient and transparent manner to reassure the public and restore confidence, we could live with it, but the fact that the Garda Commissioner is already at the centre of the Charleton inquiry and had knowledge of the latest debacle since 2014 is utterly unacceptable. Sinn Féin, through Deputy Jonathan O'Brien, has made several attempts to strengthen the powers of the Policing Authority, but it has been blocked by both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I am ask the Leader, as a matter of urgency, to invite the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to make a statement to the House in order that we can hear first-hand why she is refusing to implement section 11 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and why she thinks it is acceptable that the person in charge is not accountable. How much more does the integrity of An Garda Síochána need to be eroded before a change in leadership is necessary? It is absolutely urgent that the Minister come before the House to explain why she is taking a hands-off role in the latest debacle. We know that there will be many more debacles.