Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2023-10-03
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Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (LAB), Dublin Bay North

Any community, barrister or garda will listen to what the Taoiseach has said and feel as if it is somebody else's responsibility, not the Taoiseach's. The Taoiseach knew about this dispute coming since 12 July and he has let the criminal courts of justice fall today. The Bar Council states it has had no engagement. It falls completely and utterly on the Taoiseach, as the leader of Fine Gael, which holds the Ministry for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Ministry for Justice, to do something about it because we could have the courts closed again next month.
On the Garda issue, the Policing Authority has an absolute role to play, but has the Minister even asked it? It appears that the Taoiseach wants to deflect and say that it is everybody else's fault, except his. Deputy Varadkar is the Taoiseach. Fine Gael has these Ministries under its jurisdiction. It feels as if the criminal system is collapsing on his watch but he feels it is somebody else's responsibility to sort it out.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-10-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:13+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-10-03