I want to be associated with the words of condolences from everyone to my colleague, Senator Craughwell.

Anyone who listened to Claire Byrne's programme this morning and who has seen the "RTÉ Investigates" programme, which has now been taken down, will appreciate that the people involved in this major controversy are credible, well-motivated and truthful citizens. I have met on a number of occasions with Luke Rochford, Detective Superintendent Brian O'Reilly, Dr. Donal Corcoran, Rose Sweeney and Alan Kearney, and I am 100% satisfied that these are genuine and patriotic servants of the Irish State. I predicted that Garda management would attempt to cover up this major scandal, only part of which is in the public domain. Indeed, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions sent two missives to RTÉ even before the broadcast of the programme.

What we are concerned with here is the abuse of Garda power on a major scale. A young Irish soldier with an exemplary record in the Defence Forces armoury raised concerns with colleagues within the Garda and with people outside the Garda about major abuses in the Garda armoury and firearms sections at Garda headquarters. These abuses concerned not merely the dangerous storage of firearms and explosives, but issues such as the procurement of ammunition and the supply of equipment to An Garda Síochána. He was warned against speaking to other persons about his concerns and his position was threatened by his superiors. The matters he was concerned with were very serious. They included the procurement of €500,000 worth of grossly defective and dangerous ammunition in respect of which, remarkably, the Irish taxpayer bore the brunt of the €120,000 cost of destruction. His complaints also concerned improper travel and entertainment perks offered by suppliers to Garda personnel in Italy, which included wining and dining, a visit to a nightclub and, subsequently, to a brothel.

He raised the dubious procurement of hugely defective holsters, which have now been withdrawn on safety grounds, but not before the very serious injury of Detective Garda Connell while protecting the Israeli Embassy, who, for his trouble, was subjected to disciplinary actions by his superiors.

He also raised the authorisation of the use of Garda funds to carry out work on weapons possessed by a gun club, one of whose members was the son of his Garda superior, and the importation of parts for that purpose on foot of fraudulent documentation submitted to the Department of justice by persons within the Garda firearms section. None of these people involved in that matter have been suspended or disciplined.

For his trouble, he was arrested by members of An Garda Síochána publicly at a five-a-side football match, made to lie on the ground, had his hands handcuffed behind him and was detained under the Offences Against the State Act and brought to Irishtown Garda station. His locker had previously been opened and pages of notes in which he had detailed his concerns were ripped from a notebook there. A later staged opening of his locker was photographed by members of the Garda technical branch.

The home of his former commanding officer in the Defence Forces were searched under the Offences Against the State Act. The officer also has an exemplary record and had been selected for appointment as Captain of the Guard in Leinster House but his Garda security clearance was withdrawn and he was denied his due promotion in the Defence Forces until the intervention of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces.

The efforts of Rose Sweeney and Donal Corcoran to have the holster protected disclosure of Luke Rochford properly investigated using Colonel Ray Lane, a highly respected Army officer, were then illegally countermanded by the then Commissioner, as has now been openly admitted by the current deputy commissioner. The careers of honourable decent people in Ireland have been blighted and destroyed. I am profoundly shocked by what I know and have learned.

I raised some of these issues on the record of this House on 17 July last year, the last day of the previous term, and was assured by the then Leader that the new Commissioner and Minister for justice would address these matters. These issues need to be fully and independently investigated in order that public confidence in An Garda Síochána and its supervision at force and governmental level can be examined independently.

As Members are aware, Standing Order 52 covers the issue around adverse effects on people who are not here to defend and speak for themselves. Standing Order 53(8) also talks about the public interest.

I understand that Members will raise issues here under public interest for the citizens of Ireland who may raise issues. On the other hand, they may be on the receiving end of adverse effects upon them for speaking up on behalf of people or on issues that they feel need to be raised. When Members raise issues they will take the public interest into account. Due to the privilege they have here as Members of this House they are allowed to speak openly and freely and not suffer any adverse consequences, while taking into account the balance they have to strike in relation to any statements they make in this House. The public interest is always the one that people keep to the fore in their thoughts when they are discussing issues here.