On Wednesday the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald came to the Seanad to answer questions on the ongoing Garda scandal. I highlighted that "along with the over reporting of road incidents, I would also be very concerned about under reporting of Racist incidents and Domestic Violence. There have been very serious concerns raised about underreporting in these areas".
Sure enough, it has emerged today that there has indeed been large scale under reporting of Domestic Violence.
I also asked the Minister if she would issue a directive under section 25 of the Garda Siochana Act to formally demand 'preservation of all papers and equipment" that might be relevant to an investigation. Shockingly, she previously declined to issue such a directive in relation to the McCabe investigation.
"The real issue here is not about Canada and it is not about Wallonia, it is about the stubborn refusal, particularly by the European Commission, to acknowledge that the inclusion of special investor courts in international trade agreements is simply not appropriate or acceptable."
I spoke in the Seanad about the Tuam Mother and Baby Home in the context of Ireland's appalling history of institutional violence and the culture of denial. I called for the long-overdue separation of church and state in our country.