Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. It is clear that he is deeply committed to and supportive of the report. I also acknowledge that members of An Garda Síochána put their lives on the line every day and do an excellent job.

It is a rarity in this country that a tribunal completes a substantial part of its work in ten months. In this case, the commission of inquiry also gave the public clear and unambiguous answers to the questions that led to its establishment in the first place. Most of all, however, the fact that Maurice McCabe has been unequivocally vindicated in his relentless pursuit of high standards within the police force and, in the words of Mr. Justice Charleton, "exemplified hard work in his own calling", provides a rare glimmer of hope that the tribunal system can deliver justice from time to time.

This is now the third report in which Maurice McCabe has been vindicated in the substance of the issue he was raising within the force. A tribunal was only required because, again in the words of Mr. Justice Charleton, Sergeant McCabe was "was repulsively denigrated for being no more than a good citizen and police officer".It was established because of his pursuit of truth and justice. In the words of Charleton, Sergeant Maurice McCabe was subjected to a slanderous campaign of calumny by Commissioner Martin Callinan, actively aided by his press officer, Superintendent David Taylor. What Maurice McCabe endured is possibly one of the most despicable stains on An Garda Síochána from the highest ranked person within the force and no amount of compensation will likely return the lost years and toll that have been imposed on his family.

The loss of ministerial office cannot in any sense be viewed in the same light as what Maurice McCabe has suffered but, equally, the resignations of Frances Fitzgerald and Nóirín O'Sullivan were brought about in a manner that cannot be ignored. Almost all on the Opposition benches, including me, said that the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, had to resign because it was believed, first, that the information she gave the Dáil about her state of knowledge of the legal strategy to undermine Maurice McCabe was untruthful and, second, that she sat idly by while a good man's reputation was being systematically destroyed and undermined in the most vicious manner at the O'Higgins commission.

The third reason, however, which cannot be swept under the rug, is the crazed environment of Leinster House to which the Minister referred, where politics sometimes becomes a blood sport. A head was wanted and those calling for that head were willing to collapse a Government and force an election unless they got one. Sadly, some took satisfaction and even pleasure out of the resignation of the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald. In their minds, victory was complete even if the quest for the full truth was the casualty. This type of behaviour and politics reflects the same boorish manner in which Commissioner Callinan and Superintendent Taylor operated their public affairs. Is it any wonder that there is so much contempt for politicians in this country? Even when faced with the most serious maladministration within An Garda Síochána, we still found a way to turn it into a game for a political assassination. The tribunal has made it absolutely clear that the actions taken by Frances Fitzgerald in effectively not intervening in the commission's work when she became aware of the legal strategy were fully justified. As Mr. Justice Charleton says, any hint of working things out between the Garda Commissioner and the Department of justice had to be avoided as a matter of ethics.

Ethics should be the driving force in Irish politics and that is the key question we need to address here with respect to Frances Fitzgerald. The tribunal not only found that there were no questions here for Frances Fitzgerald to answer; it also found that the Minister's intervention would have been unethical. Charleton explicitly found that the only appropriate action for one investigative party was not to interfere with the approach of the other investigative party. In other words, the Minister acted appropriately at all times.

There is no going around the fact that the former Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, was taken out, mired in public controversy and yet found to have done nothing wrong in her function as Minister. It is petty in the extreme for any of us involved not to acknowledge the simple fact that the very essence of why we forced her our - her inaction - has proven to be an ethical approach that a Supreme Court justice and tribunal chairman has said ought to have been adopted. Deputy Fitzgerald rose through the ranks from being a Member of this House to being Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Minister for Justice and Equality and Tánaiste. For her career to have been sullied in the way it was mirrors the brutish and bullish culture of Commissioner Callinan and David Taylor which they adopted in their campaign against Maurice McCabe. I want to say to Deputy Fitzgerald that I let my own standards fall when I became part of the frenzy that called for her head. I want to say I am sorry for any hurt I caused her. I am sorry for the hurt to her reputation and to her family. She comes out of this tribunal with her reputation intact. How can we as politicians possibly give leadership and inspire decent public service when our political behaviour is sometimes so far removed from facts and reality but instead feeds the notion that politics is some cynical and gladiatorial battle filled with winners and losers?

Having acknowledged that there were political gains at play in this sorry affair, I must accept that a number of my colleagues in both Houses of the Oireachtas, who have persisted on many matters surrounding wrongdoings in An Garda Síochána, must not be lumped in with the game players. We owe a debt of thanks to those who take wrongdoing in all parts of our society and bring it to this House to ensure the innocent do not suffer. I am speaking of those who championed the McCabe case. I cannot begin to understand the pain caused to the family of Maurice McCabe. I hope the tribunal report gives Maurice and his wife, Lorraine, and their family a new lease of life. I hope they find peace.

I equally hope that this provides the impetus for our new Commissioner, Drew Harris, to drive the cultural reforms that seem to be so badly needed and that we never again see this rotting behaviour at the top of An Garda Síochána. I hope, with much less expectation, that politicians and media alike hit the pause button on the ministerial head-hunting approach to politics the next time a crisis comes around. I hope when the facts do not meet the political reality that it is acknowledged and not simply quashed to ensure nobody loses face.

We owe the McCabes, the O'Sullivans and Deputy Fitzgerald a deep apology. I stand here in all humility today for I was among those in this House that called for the heads of Frances Fitzgerald and Nóirín O'Sullivan. I am deeply sorry to both of them and I do hope and pray that Deputy Fitzgerald finds high public office again, for she deserves it. I thank the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, for taking the time to come here. I know he holds this issue in such high regard that he wanted to be here himself although he could have sent a Minister of State. When he is talking to Deputy Fitzgerald, I ask him to pass on my apologies.