Fionnán Sheahan: Helen McEntee’s mistake on overstaffed garda station shows infallible officials aren’t watching her back

Justice Minister Helen McEntee does not appear to be getting the support she needs from her department or the Government. Photo: PA

Fionnán Sheahan

It’s becoming uncomfortable watching the situation with Justice Minister Helen McEntee play out. On a human level, an uneasy feeling descends as you see a minister flailing about so badly in an Oireachtas committee, incapable of answering basic questions on key policy areas in her portfolio. And one can only have sympathy for a young mother who gets a call to say her husband and two toddler sons had to evacuate their home after gardaí were alerted to a bomb threat. Nothing justifies, mitigates or explains such intimidation against a politician of any rank.

On a political level, McEntee is playing senior football now. Clearly this is a minister who needs additional support from within the Government and isn’t getting it. When the Justice Minister has to correct the record of the Dáil because she has stated one of her local garda stations had six times more gardaí than actually assigned, there’s a problem across her entire department.