Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I rise today to call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to attend this House and explain what she knows about the current saga of the alleged misappropriation of millions of euro at the Garda training college in Templemore. There appears to be a huge disparity between the evidence given by a senior civil servant within the force, Mr. John Barrett, and that of the Garda Commissioner with regard to both of their recollections of a meeting in July 2015. Mr. Barrett recollects a detailed two-hour meeting in which a recommendation by Mr. Ken Ruane to invoke article 41 of the Garda Síochána Act was discussed. Mr. Barrett accumulated very detailed attendance notes of that meeting. The Garda Commissioner, on the other hand, recollects a very different meeting and describes such a meeting as a brief meeting over a cup of tea. We understand that a 120-page detailed dossier was given to the Committee of Public Accounts last night on the financial irregularities and alleged malpractice. We also know that audits of the Garda training college in or about 2008 and 2010 found a complicated web of company accounts and raised serious concerns about the use of taxpayers' money.

It is now time for the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to this House and inform us of her interpretation of the events. The Minister needs to let us know when she found out about the alleged irregularities and what exactly she was told. Can the Minister for Justice and Equality stand over the Garda Commissioner in light of these new revelations? Did the Minister question the Garda Commissioner and ask her why there was a 15-month delay in informing her of these irregularities? Did she question why senior civil servants were prevented from getting information they needed to conclude the audit? That information was the 2008 and 2010 audit reports which, as we have learnt, were denied to the audit committee. Finally and most importantly, does the Minister for Justice and Equality believe that the Garda Commissioner misled the Committee of Public Accounts? If the Minister does believe that, is the position of the Garda Commissioner now untenable?

The second issue I wish to raise relates to the increase in costs of motor insurance premiums. Anecdotally, we learn that car insurance premiums have gone up in many cases by 32% to 40%. We know that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, is investigating potential legal breaches by insurers as car insurance premiums continue to rise. I ask the Minister for Finance to inform this House when the investigation by the CCPC will be complete. We understand that it is a complicated process, but in the meantime, consumers are at risk of being exploited by anti-competitive practices within the industry. Policies put forward by the Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, in January need to be implemented because consumers are outraged that these nonsensical price increases continue.