"Restoring justice is the most important thing here. Therefore, it is either the government or a new minister who should correct the mistake made by (Interior) Minister Raimundas Palaitis by revoking his decrees on dismissal and access to classified information," the parliamentary speaker said in an interview to Žinių Radijas news radio on Wednesday.
In her opinion, the conclusions drawn by the parliamentary Anti-Corruption Commission and testimonies confirm that dismissal of FCIS director Vitalijus Gailius and his deputy Vytautas Giržadas was a mistake.
"People work for Lithuania in a responsible and dedicated manner for years, but then they are stripped of their permits to work with classified information at a go and without clarification, and then they're sacked – their efforts over the 20 years of independence is made void," Degutienė said.
"To prevent this from happening in Lithuania again, we must restore justice and return these people to their posts," she added.
The parliamentary speaker refused to comment on what would happen, if President Dalia Grybauskaitė rejected Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius' proposal to dismiss the interior minister: "I would not want to comment on this issue, it is the president's decision, let's be patient. After the president has her say, we will talk then."
At the same time, Degutienė said the government had the potential of working until the end of the term. "It has superb chances of doing this, we only need to replace the minister," she said.
On Tuesday, Kubilius submitted a proposal to the president that she should sack the interior minister. Kubilius appointed Raimondas Šukys as acting minister.
The president pledged to make her mind up next week after meeting with the minister and Algis Čaplikas, the leader of ruling Liberal and Center Union that nominated Palaitis to the government.
Number of applicants to be revealed next week
Information about the number of applicants for the position of director of the Financial Crimes Investigation Service should be published by the Interior Ministry on Monday.
Tuesday was the application deadline. However, the interior minister's adviser Ramunė Hazir told BNS that the number of applicants would not be revealed after the deadline for applications by mail.
"The information will be available on Monday," she said.
The Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that the speculations about absence of applicants were not true.
The ministry announced the competition last month after Interior Minister Raimundas Palaitis sacked Vitalijus Gailius from the post.
Applicants are required to have a university degree in law, at least five years of experience in executive positions and at least 10 years of experience in public security, a special non-military degree that would be at least lieutenant colonel or senior commissioner.
Candidates are also expected to meet the requirements that are necessary to access classified information and a certificate of personal reliability.
