FF ARE UTTERLY DISCREDITED IN MATTERS OF JUSTICE POLICY

Posted on April 3, 2014 9:39 AM   |   Permanent Link   

Speaking against the Motion of No Confidence in Minster Alan Shatter

I am happy to speak against this motion, introduced by a party that is, in my view, utterly discredited when it comes to matters of policy in justice matters.

However, I am going to focus on the facts and the track record of Minister Shatter, and not on a political party that has done nothing but damage this country repeatedly over the years in many different ways.
The Government has decided to appoint Mr Justice Nial Fennelly, currently serving as a Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chair of the Commission of Investigation and it was agreed that the Commission of Investigation should examine all matters of public concern relating to the issue of taping of conversations in Garda stations. The full terms of reference will be finalised shortly, in consultation with Mr Justice Fennelly and will be subject to approval by Dáil Éireann.

I believe that the public interest would be better served if An Garda Siochana was over seen by an independent policing authority. The Labour Party has advocated this for many years now, believing that it is not in the public interest, nor in the interest of the administration of justice, for a police force and its commissioner to be directly answerable to an elected representative. I find it interesting that Fianna Fáil never implemented this, despite being in power for 14 years.
During the past 36 months of this Government, Minister Shatter has been directly involved in the drafting, publication and enactment of 40 separate pieces of legislation. He has enacted 21 separate pieces of legislation during the past three years and is overseeing a further 5 Bills, which are currently being progressed through the Houses of the Oireachtas. He is also directly involved in the drafting of an additional 14 Bills and has effected important changes to the Courts jurisdictions and is working to establish the Court of Appeal approved in last autumn's referendum. As a member of the Oireachtas Justice committee I am very much aware of this work and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Despite the truly awful situation inherited from the previous Fianna Fáil led Government, Minister Shatter secured additional funding over and above that allocated by Fianna Fail in their National Recovery Plan for the three year period, 2012-2014, to ensure that An Garda Síochána could continue to deliver an effective policing service. Minister Shatter secured Government agreement for the commencement of a Garda recruitment campaign as well as substantial investment in Garda Vehicles.
Minister Shatter has an excellent track record as Minister for Justice - a record far, far better than former Minister John O'Donohue and former Minister Dermot Ahern, not to mention former Minister McDowell. I am happy to vote confidence based on this, and on the timeline Minister Shatter referred to in the House last week.