THE Minister for Education pledged her support to the Minister for Justice. Ms Breathnach, the only Labour speaker in the debate yesterday, said deputies should await the outcome of the inquiry set up by Mrs Owen. It would be "unwise to rush to judgment before seeing all the relevant facts".
"The Minister has been a supportive member of Government. She has shown an interest and commitment to all areas of Government policy, including my own work in the Department of Education," she said.
Mrs Owen had "faced this difficult challenge in her usual honest and forthright way". She admitted the communication system in her Department had failed and had responded swiftly by setting up an independent inquiry.
"Nora Owen has introduced more reforms to the justice system than any minister in recent times. She has worked incessantly on a comprehensive package of measures to ensure that the twin evils of lawlessness and drug abuse are combated at every level. And she has, with the full support of her colleagues in Government, progressed an unprecedented range of measures to ensure the safety of all our citizens.
"I stand over my record in implementing the education commitments of the programme for renewal. And I stand over the record of each and every member of this Government which has provided strong united and confident leadership to our people over the last two years.