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PROFESSOR BILL TORMEY is no stranger to controversy, having clashed with his own party (Fine Gael) on more than one occasion in the past.
A former councillor for Ballymun-Finglas on Dublin’s northside and a consultant at Beaumont and Connolly hospitals, he also holds medical and science degrees from UCD and a PhD from Trinity College.
His stance on the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum is firmly in the No camp, and recently he tweeted that being homosexual is a “biological disadvantage”, a statement which he doesn’t believe needs any clarification.
“It’s quite simple – if you are an exclusive homosexual you cannot reproduce in the normal state of affairs unless technology or a third party is involved,” he told TheJournal.ie.
That is a biological disadvantage whatever way you look at it.
Homosexuality can’t be considered to be equal in the normal reproductive course of events because it’s just not.
Bill Tormey / TwitterHomosexuality is part of the human condition. About 2 - 3%. A biological disadvantage. Just part of the variation in humanity
— Bill Tormey (@billtormey) May 6, 2015
As to his vote in the referendum on 22 May, Tormey says that any vote other than ‘no’ would be “insane”.
“It’s insane to pass a referendum that is going to introduce into our constitution the idea that there is no gender in marriage. Aside from anything else the unconsidered legal consequences are many,” he says.
One consequence is that there will be no discrimination between couples on grounds of gender or sexuality when it comes to adoption.
I personally believe that it is in the interests of children that heterosexual couples should receive top ranking in terms of their desirability when it comes to adoption, all things being equal.
The idea that there is no difference between masculinity and femininity, between male and female behaviour, is a patent absurdity.
Those that deny a difference between the sexes are denying the basic facts of nature staring them in the face. Really, supposed intellectuals spouting anti-intellectual beliefs, well that shows them up as pseudo-intellectuals.
Tormey says that he cannot be “pigeonholed” as to his beliefs, having been previously on the side of civil partnership, divorce, and the legalisation of abortion up to ten weeks by medical means.
He says the “burning reason” he is voting against same-sex marriage is the legal “lottery” it will create.
“If the referendum passes, it is more than likely that, given our experiences with the 8th amendment, a homosexual couple will take the state to court because their rights are being denied, when the state grants an adoption to a heterosexual couple rather than them.
At that point we have a Supreme Court lottery.
That is why I could not fail to oppose this referendum vigorously.
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And they’ll do nothing about it .
@Ian O’Rourke: About what exactly?
@Honeybee: well never know, because 99% of complaints disappear in the gsoc system with no follow up possible. What is the percentage of non gardai related complaints that are referred to the DPP?
Not defending the Gardai here but some of these complaints could be nothing more than to get back at a member of the Garda for doing their job.
About 2 years ago I found teens in a car doing doughnuts in the mountains . I photographed them the ran left the car running with keys in ignition. I Brought keys and memory card to police station . Two weeks later a girl died in the same area by teens in a borrowed car. I’ve heard nothing two years later despite sending a email . Don’t think they take investigation seriously.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: and your point is what
@John Kelly: not doing the job and investigating a crime is misconduct.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: how clear were the photographs, did you get a clear shot of someone driving?
@Tony Donoghue: it doesn’t matter. It’s unknown whether gardai will even open up a case on it, and if they do they will claim that the actual evidence of criminal activity isn’t evidence. Follow gardai traffic on this with anyone publishing pictures of people commuting crimes are requested to take them down to protect their good name – no investigation ever occurs.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: unless the car was stolen then it wasn’t a crime, at the most dangerous driving, which is road traffic (not a crime). Was there a complainant? I.e a victim who was willing to make a statement. Genuine question.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: it’s very simple, telephone or call in to your local Garda station and find out if there was an outcome instead of assuming no investigation was done at all…
@Mazza86: in fairness he did enquire
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: I’m assuming you dont know if it was the same set of teens who were involved in the incident where the girl died?
Sounds like you witnessed a dangerous driving incident, I’m sure there are hundreds if not thousands of those every day of the week.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: hang on a second…are u alleging that the gardai did not investigate the fatality of a teenage girl??? Let’s get real here, that is not the case. The guards are bound by the data protection act which means they cannot release information regarding the investigation of that girls death to u. Just because of what u saw there 2 weeks before doesn’t mean they are responsible. Perhaps the reason there is no more about it is because they have found that there was no connection between both incidents during their investigation
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: so you actually stole keys from a car and your upset because it wasn’t followed up……
@Renton Burke: correct. Because you moaning on social media is not an official complaint and people are innocent until proven guilty.
Walk into a station and make a complaint instead of taking to Twitter!
This is the kind of stuff that make the criminals the victims and have the Gardaí walking on eggshells around them and then we wonder why we don’t receive justice. I also wonder how many of the statistics were found to be erroneous and vindictive complaints… The reality is if this culture of vilifying and attacking the Gardaí at media level, Government level and upper organisational level continues in this current trend you’ll make the Gardaís job undoable to the point of non function and in that event guess who suffers again, the public…
@Mazza86: Defending the vast amount of corruption is beyond the pale
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/analysis/achieving-the-right-human-rights-balance-920132.html
https://www.newstalk.com/newstalk-breakfast/former-ombudsman-says-current-garda-working-at-gsoc-inappropriate-697888
God almighty from.people breaking the law astounding …
@John Kelly: perhaps they complained because they were not actually breaking any law
@Tony Donoghue: doubt it .. I have a healthy degree of scepticism on this one .. I have never had an issue with the garda … and guess what I dont break the law
@John Kelly: that doesn’t prove anything, Garda make mistakes just like every other profession
@John Kelly: Your scepticism is borne out by GSOC’s own data for 2018
https://www.gardaombudsman.ie/publications/statistics/outcomes-of-cases/
@John Kelly: yaaa.. no such thing as Garda corruption.
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/amp.independent.ie/irish-news/11m-in-payouts-for-55-victims-of-donegal-garda-corruption-26469346.html
@Doubtchya Boy!: The article you quote is from 2007,twelve years ago,I think if you check figures for the past five years , the GSOC figures show an analysis leading on from the new oversight bodies.
@John Kelly: Mind boggling that you are defending a very corrupt Gardai that are synonymous with breaking the law continuously. The new Garda commissioner is appalled at the amount of corruption and is going to set up a new anti corruption unit, that probably will not work and be stone walled. Not all Gardai are corrupt, but there is a lot of them who break the law and you openly appear to be saying say that complaints are not to be listened to and the complainants are criminals(this is nearly word for word from corrupt Garda representatives at their conference a few years ago). They have been deliberately blocking inquiries into them. Last year RTE ran a documentary on part of 200 very serious cases of Garda malpractice that the Gardai are trying to block and not cooperate with GSOC etc.
https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/371623/limerick-gardai-facing-corruption-inquiry.html
https://www.thejournal.ie/garda-anti-corruption-4625209-May2019/
@Honeybee: The Gardai are still not cooperating properly with GSOC and GSOC was deliberately designed to be toothless to protect corruption and Gardai who break the law
https://www.thejournal.ie/gsoc-taser-discharges-48-hours-4531197-Mar2019/
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/gsoc-has-failed-and-is-not-fit-for-purpose-1.3585708
@KingCrisp: rubbish. Gsoc have the same powerd against Gardai that Gardai have against you and even more. So how is that toothless?
Gsoc investigate every single complaint, the fact is that the case cast majority of those complaints are found to be rubbish.
@James Stephens: They are underfunded and understaffed and can’t compel the Gardai to cooperate just to name a few of their toothless failings. I’ve already furnised a link showing some of their failings. Cases fail due to GSOC been toothless and extreme Garda resistance and corruption toward GSOC and any investigations, ergo cases not been able to be resolved, ergo it negates your statement “the fact is that the case cast majority of those complaints are found to be rubbish.”. They are not rubbish. Corrupt Gardai and GSOC’s failings stops Gardai been prosecuted. I’m not saying all cases are guilty, but they are stopping investigation and breaking the law again, Corruptus in extremis
Unfortunately the corrupt Gardai and the Garda representatives and all who are involved in protecting corrupt Gardai, are sullying all of the good hard working honest Gardai and by protecting corruption they are de facto anti-Gardai
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/gsoc-has-failed-and-is-not-fit-for-purpose-1.3585708
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/gsoc-has-more-than-1-000-investigations-ongoing-1.3448541
@KingCrisp: rubbish. Gsoc can attest and detain a Garda in the exact same way a Garda can arrest and detain you.
They can also compel Gardai to report on an event that occurred while on duty.
Saying gsoc can’t compel Gardai to assist is like saying Gardai can’t compel a witness to assist with a case but yet the Gardai still solve many many crimes.
Or did you think criminals always hand themselves in and admit everything?
As for being underfunded and understaffed. Oh please. Do some maths. Gsoc have a bigger budget and manpower to person they’re tasked with investigating than the actual Gardai do to perform their duties. Do you even know the staff strength and budget for gsoc?
I’d question how many complaints were genuinely warranted, IMO there’s far more unwarranted.
Sure every sc&mbag in the country can make a complaint out of pure badness. Complaint made doesn’t mean it actually happened although u wouldn’t think that with some of the comments here…..
And what will be done….zilch…nadda…zip…feel free to add more if ye like (“,)
@Craig Clancy: nil, nowt, zero, sweet fanny adams
All police are corrupted
@Pat Clapham: eh hello, this one is about Garda Siochana
@Pat Clapham: are you including Maurice McCabe in your ignorant exaggeration?
@Pat Clapham: maybe proof read your comments before posting them!
@Tony Donoghue: who are the police .
@bmul: Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers
@Pat Clapham: and all morons cant spell
Arra everybody complains about everything these days. It doesn’t mean they were all legit.
@Tom Tom: arra. I didn’t need to read the rest of your comment.
I was driving down the M1 to Dublin one day last year and a car flew down the wrong side of the motorway in the overtaking lane.
I had dash cam footage so I dropped it into the Guards.
They guard thanked me and I left.
10 minutes later his superior called me and I kid you not he said “I’m not sure what you want me to do with this, do you want to make a complaint?”
I politely said, I’m not sure I’m not a Garda.
Someone has to die or be seriously injured for these muppets to do some work.
That person could be suicidal or maybe the car was stolen, could clearly see a face and the number plate on the video.
@Diarmaid O’Riordáin: Legally speaking, you must make a formal statement of complaint for an investigation to be launched before the Gardaí would have the power to make a well grounded arrest and leading from that a successful prosecution in a court of law… You merely handing the dash cam footage in to the station would possibly identify the vehicle, driver etc and would be excellent corroborating evidence if used in conjunction with a witness statement… If you think the footage should be enough for a successful prosecution then your anger and frustration should be directed to our legal system not the Gardaí… They merely work within the confines of this system
Not surprised I was one of them.
They’ll never change.
It’s 5000 the others 3000 fell into the bin
1 in 6 have been at it apart from the criminal con and dishonest and wrong and uncaring ones of the12000 there are in this police force the time has come Drew
@Harry Price: ah yeah, and you don’t have any reason to hate the Gardai
How many were frivolous, vexatious or downright lies were made and told? Overall 74 sanctions out of 2000 complaints of a total of 13,500 Garda members. Please keep it in perspective. GSOC has their own agenda.
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