Corruption debate: The Garda should not stand aside from tackling corruption while the tribunals of inquiry are under way, the Green convention was told.
The party's local election candidate in Co Laois, Mr Matt Diskin, said in a debate on planning and corruption that investigations by tribunal should not delay taking criminal prosecutions against corrupt politicians.
"There's a danger of even the tribunals becoming part of the problem rather than part of the solution because they're in grave danger of being manipulated by the political status quo. What's so special about our politicians? Why is it the case that if they're suspected of lining their pockets they are apparently not allowed to be questioned and charged by the police?" Mr Diskin asked.
"The police and the courts should resume their proper role and be allowed to apply the law of the land to these politicians in precisely the same way as it is applied to every other citizen." The "culture of corruption" was having a corrosive impact on Irish society, he said.
