Sacking of Callinan was a diversionary tactic by Taoiseach, claims Martin
The accusation drew an angry response from Mr Kenny who said the opposition leader had branded him a liar.
Mr Kenny said the comments were “beneath” the Fianna Fáil leader during heated Dáil exchanges as opposition leaders demanded the resignation of embattled Justice Minister Alan Shatter.
Mr Martin expressed concern that the Taoiseach had failed to reveal that he had dispatched the secretary general of the justice department to see then Garda commissioner Martin Callinan on Monday evening — just hours before Mr Callinan’s surprise resignation was announced.
Mr Martin said this was intended to get rid of the commissioner after Transport Minister and Labour Cabinet members had demanded Mr Callinan withdrew remarks in which he branded the actions of garda whistleblowers as “disgusting”.
The Fianna Fáil leader insisted that the commissioner would have told the senior civil servant that he had alerted the justice minister to concern over widespread bugging of telephone in garda stations in a letter to Mr Shatter two weeks previously.
Mr Martin said the Taoiseach had been evasive about the bugging crisis and had withheld information deliberately.
“The Taoiseach did not tell us the full story. He did not tell me about any senior civil servant going out to the commissioner.
“That revelation tells me one thing; he said it to inform and convey to him the gravity of how the Taoiseach felt about the issues that were emerging.
“He essentially sacked him. Calling a spade a spade, that is what that means. The context is appalling.
“Surely his official would have been told by the commissioner that he wrote about these issues two weeks ago to the minister for justice, that the attorney general knew about them for four months and that officials in the Department of Justice knew about it.
“Forgive us all for thinking that the timing of all of this is extremely odd, coming at the end of the week that was in it,” the Fianna Fáil leader told TDs.
Mr Kenny condemned the accusation made by the Fianna Fáil leader and insisted he had not tried to sack Mr Callinan.
“This is the first time Deputy Martin has accused me of being a liar in here and of using some perception of authority to remove people from office. I deplore what he is suggesting absolutely,” the Taoiseach said during Leader’s Questions.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams also called on the Taoiseach to sack the justice minister over his handling of a string of Garda controversies in recent months.
