Frances Fitzgerald defends account of Garda taping ‘crisis’

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The recent "crisis" over Garda tape recordings has shown the country requires a "new approach to policing", Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has said.

Along with her Cabinet colleague and Minster for the Environment Phil Hogan, she defended the explanations offered by the Government about the sequence of events surrounding the issue.

As to whether the controversy had proved a distraction to the wider business of Government, Ms Fitzgerald said yesterday: “Well obviously there has been a huge focus on it. Clearly there is a lot of work to be done in Justice as well as in other areas that we are all getting on with. Obviously part of being in Government is how you respond to crisis and taking the right decision.”

Speaking at the launch of a report by the Childhood Development Initiative, she said she had full confidence in the ability of Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.

“I believe that in relation to policing what has emerged points very clearly to the need for a new approach to policing. No one could have forecast the systemic nature of the taping,” she said.

“It is extraordinary that it has been known of in a variety of places. But the systemic nature – this is now going to deal with that once and for all in a very serious way.”

In relation to how the issue had unfolded, she added: “I think there is an overfocus on some of the recent timelines; a continuous statement out there from the Opposition that either the Taoiseach or the Minister are not telling the truth about the timelines. They are telling the truth about those timelines.”

Separately, Mr Hogan said he was happy with the explanations provided by Mr Shatter and by Attorney General Máire Whelan. Although it was the right of the Opposition to put down motions of no confidence in Ministers, he said he hoped the issue had now been put to bed.