Michael Fitzmaurice TD has said that “Given the number of controversies that have arisen over the past number of weeks and which show no sign of abating” Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan should “step aside from her position in the interests of the country.”
The Roscommon Galway TD went on to say that he also believed that “someone from outside the force should be appointed as Commissioner for a period of at least two years until the current controversies have been cleared up.”
“This is not a personal attack on Noirin O’Sullivan, but it would appear that there is a never ending steam of controversies coming up week after week and the morale of the force is being undermined by the current situation. We need strong leadership in the at the top of the Garda force and not someone who seems to be under pressure to clear up various controversies day after day, week after week. It is time to appoint someone from outside for a specific period of time the force to allow the force to regroup.”
There are a lot of excellent Gardaí who are doing an superb job, but it’s is not helpful to the force when the spotlight is on those few who may have behaved inappropriately in the past, and these matters have to be cleared up. The Garda force has always been held in very high esteem by the public but that has changed in recent weeks and months because of these matters, and morale in the force is low at the moment.
Michael Fitzmaurice concluded by saying “We have to restore that public confidence, and if Commissioner O’Sullivan were to stand aside then it would be a start.”