"Will we keep her here for the night?" Not one, not two, but three gardaí up to the rank of superintendent swore under oath that they heard me say those words at the protest in Jobstown. Words designed-----

Deputy, please.

Yes, a Cheann Comhairle.

The Deputy is getting involved in rehearsing events that took place in a court-----

It is a call for a public inquiry.

-----of law. This is not a judicial body.

Sure, this-----

It is not in order.

The trial is finished. It is in order.

The trial is finished, but it is not in order for this House to review the outcome of trials. It is not in order and I would ask the Deputy please not to be disorderly.

Words designed to portray a menacing crowd, perhaps a crowd-----

No, please.

----from Lord of the Flies-----

I am afraid that the Deputy is completely out of order.

I am not.

He is not out of order.

Deputy Murphy may not attempt in this House to review-----

What-----

The Deputy may not attempt-----

Under what Standing Order am I out of order?

This matter has been debated already.

Standing Orders 59 and 61, if the Deputy would care to look at them.

This matter arose in the Dáil yesterday.

That relates to pending court cases.

The Deputy may not undertake-----

This is about a public inquiry.

-----a review of the outcome of a court case in this House.

He is not purporting to do that.

I am not, a Cheann Comhairle.

It is not in order.

Yesterday in the Dáil, the Taoiseach said that he had been struck by the moment when that was said. He could not have been struck by it because it did not happen. Last Thursday, the Taoiseach made comments on "Prime Time" expressing concern over potentially false statements given by gardaí. Yesterday, he entered the Dáil and put them on the Official Report of the Dáil. We proved, and we can prove again, that they were not said because of a video taken by a protestor. I ask the Taoiseach to retract the comments that he made yesterday and to correct the record.

One garda misremembering this under oath would be an unfortunate error. Two gardaí remembering the same words that were not said would be an incredible, almost unbelievable, coincidence, but three gardaí - the Taoiseach should tell me what he thinks that means. Add to that the garda who swore under oath that he had seen me directing protestors where to stand. When confronted with video evidence proving that I was not directing anybody and he could not have seen me in any case, he responded, "I stand over my statement." Add to that the superintendent who, in his written statement, claimed that-----

We are going over the court case.

-----as a consequence of what I had said on the megaphone, people became more aggressive-----

Nonsense.

-----and missiles began to be thrown.

We have already had the court case.

The Deputy is going over his own court case.

So, she was not locked inside the car.

Excuse me. The Deputies might not agree with the call for a public inquiry. Fianna Fáil in particular might be nervous about these points being raised-----

Nervous about what?

We are not talking about that at all.

-----but something very serious happened in court and there is a public-----

Walk away.

-----interest in a public inquiry.

We are not discussing that.

I could give more examples, but I will not.

Can we have order?

Walk away.

I am finished with the examples because they have demonstrated my point. If the Taoiseach wants more, I would be happy to go through the transcript and the video evidence with him, as are the other defendants who are here.

Not here you will not.

The Taoiseach has to decide what all of that means. I know what I think it means. I think it means that numerous gardaí lied under oath.

When did the judge say that?

I think that they did so in a co-ordinated way.

Why did the judge not-----

That implies an agreement-----

This is an abuse of Dáil privilege.

-----to commit perjury.

Deputy Murphy-----

I think that is prima facie a conspiracy.

Dáil privilege.

Yes, a Cheann Comhairle.

He cannot say that.

Look at the judge, jury and executioner here beside us.

Deputy Murphy, please.

That is what it is all about.

There is long-established precedent here.

Repeat that outside the House.

It is not open to this House - to this Chamber - to-----

To call gardaí liars.

-----review the-----

I am not asking-----

-----process of a court case.

-----to review the process of a court case.

You are-----

Why does the Deputy not repeat that outside the House?

It is completely-----

I am asking for a public inquiry, if the Ceann Comhairle will let me finish the point.

I have let you finish.

Thank you.

It is questionable whether I should have let you go on in the first instance or not, but you are not-----

The man was exonerated. What is the Ceann Comhairle going on about?

Deputy McDonald-----

Sinn Féin is catching up now.

-----have you some role in this?

No, but I am a Member of this House and the Ceann Comhairle is interfering with-----

Then keep the peace.

Trying to keep the votes there from swinging.

It has everything to do-----

Deputy Paul Murphy is out of order.

A Cheann Comhairle, it is about a public matter.

Sinn Féin is trying to catch up.

Deputy Murphy caught Sinn Féin out before.

Okay. Let us forget about the court for a minute and let us deal with politicians because this actually started with politicians. It started-----

The Deputy has gone a minute over time.

Excuse me. Can I-----

It started with schoolchildren.

Right. You-----

Deputy Durkan, control yourself.

It might pain you all, or at least lots of you-----

You held them inside for three hours.

-----that a jury actually watched the evidence and found us not guilty. I am sorry, but that is the way it works.

Time is up, Deputy.

He is being allowed time.

This started with politicians.

Time is up, Deputy.

I have been interrupted non-stop.

He was not, actually.

Let me pose the question. I will not go back to the court case, I guarantee the Ceann Comhairle.

He spoke for two and a half minutes without any interruption.

This started with politicians. It started with a Labour Minister a few hours after the protest saying that it was false imprisonment.

At a graduation.

Sitting in a car for three hours. That is where it started.

It was followed by the former Taoiseach saying that it was kidnapping. It was followed by the now Taoiseach saying that it was thuggery. It was followed by the Taoiseach's lost colleague, Mr. Noel Coonan, describing it as the same as ISIS. That was echoed by large sections of the media. Now, politicians - not courts - have to deal with the consequences.

Thank you, Deputy. The point is made.

If the Taoiseach believes that there is a serious chance, as there is, that the gardaí gave false evidence-----

Will you resume your seat, please?

-----on the stand, will he accept that we have to have an independent-----

Deputy, please resume your seat.

-----public inquiry?

Who detained two women?

Look at the time.

The Deputy had a fair trial. It went on for nine weeks. The Deputy's peers heard both sides of the case, the prosecution and the defence. They reviewed the evidence and they acquitted him of false imprisonment. You are not a victim here. You are not the victim of any conspiracy.

Really?

You had a fair trial and you were acquitted, but that does not mean that your behaviour was right.

Hear, hear.

It may well be the case that the Deputy was not engaged in kidnapping, but it was thuggery and your behaviour was wrong.

Hear, hear.

The protest was ugly, it was violent, it was nasty.

That is outrageous.

It is a disgraceful comment.

Two women were kept in a car.

Deputy Coppinger is dead right that it is outrageous.

For those of us who have seen some of the coverage of it that was broadcast on television, whether it was the anger, the virulence, the words that were being directed at two women going about their course of work on the day-----

"Traitor"?

-----a water balloon being thrown in somebody's face, all of those things were behaviour that is unbecoming of a Member of this House, unbecoming of somebody who believes in democracy and unbecoming of somebody who has any respect for other human beings. Instead of trying to present himself as the victim and demanding a public inquiry, what the Deputy should do now in the House is offer a public apology-----

Hear, hear.

-----to Deputy Burton and Ms O'Connell.

I am not a victim. I will tell the Taoiseach who is a victim. There was a 15 year old who was convicted on the same evidence-----

Led by you.

-----that was contradicted before a jury and disbelieved by a jury. He was convicted in a children's court of false imprisonment. There is a victim.

Why was he out there?

Led by you. You organised-----

Will the Taoiseach support his appeal to overturn his conviction?

I thought that Deputy Murphy supported the courts.

The others, my co-defendants, people who lost jobs as a consequence and those who still have this hanging over them-----

All led by you.

-----they are victims. The Taoiseach avoided the question quite deliberately because there is a logical flaw in his position. His position is to say that it would be a serious problem - I agree as it would be a matter of severe importance and public interest - if, in an abstract sense, gardaí would give false statements under oath. I agree that this is an important issue, but there is a logical problem with following that by saying that we will get the Commissioner, Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan, and the Garda management to look into it.

The Deputy used other people.

The logical problem, as the Taoiseach knows, is that, first, we do not know how high this conspiracy went inside the Garda and, second, we do know that Nóirín O'Sullivan and the Garda hierarchy have been implicated in scandal after scandal after scandal.

We know that you held captive two women for three hours.

Deputy Durkan, please.

Whistleblowers. Templemore. Penalty points. We know that, so it is completely illogical-----

Time, a Cheann Comhairle.

-----to ask them to investigate whether their members co-ordinated perjury to try to, first, get prosecutions to proceed in the first place and, second, stitch people up for false imprisonment.

Thank you, Deputy.

I do not want the Taoiseach's commentary on the case. I want him to deal with the actual question, namely-----

You have given enough commentary yourself.

-----that we need an independent public inquiry to get to the bottom of this and the charges against remaining protestors should be dropped.

You want the Henry Ford approach - your own way.

Not only does Deputy Murphy owe Deputy Burton and Ms O'Connell a public apology, he deserves all of those other-----

For what?

The Taoiseach will regret this. He is going to regret this when this comes out.

Please, will the Deputies let the Taoiseach answer?

That is quite threatening, actually.

Yes.

To what?

Politically, the Taoiseach is going to regret this. Yes, you are.

What is wrong with saying some of the people in the Dáil-----

Will the Deputies let the Taoiseach answer?

More threats.

Bully boy.

Outrageous behaviour.

Deputy Murphy also should give a public apology to all of the people whom he led.

Hear, hear.

The Deputy was a part of the leadership of that protest. We saw him on the loudhailer.

The Taoiseach clearly has not read the transcripts.

Deputy Murphy owes those people who got caught up in this an apology as well-----

Read the transcripts.

-----particularly the young people and the minors-----

It is an awful pity that there are juries, is it not?

-----who should not have been led in that sort of protest, which is unbecoming our democracy and our politics.

As the Head of Government, I have a legitimate concern about any failed prosecution, whether it is that prosecution or the prosecution of Mr. Seán FitzPatrick or others. Enormous cost goes into such prosecutions. Enormous effort goes into such prosecutions, and at the very least, if a prosecution fails in this way, there should be a review or an examination of the facts. That is something that should occur.

That is totally wrong. That is turning it into a different ball game.