John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to clarify this. It is never a question of not having room to accommodate witnesses, Mr. Governey. We will always find space for you. You can always be assured of that. We contacted Rehab and we asked representatives to attend. At the meeting it was perfectly clear whom they wanted to attend and how the witness list should be made up. There is no doubt in our minds that the representatives of Rehab, through the clerk, were made absolutely clear about what was required of them. In fact, at the last meeting, I questioned Ms Kerins on whether she had informed Mr. Flannery. She did not give us a straight answer. It is clear to me that there is no issue in respect of how we issued the invitation, that there was no ambiguity over who we wished to attend and that there is an attempt being made - not by you, but by others - to muddy the waters in respect of the invitation. Let us be clear about it: Rehab and Angela Kerins, through our clerk, knew exactly what was required for that meeting. In my opinion, she decided for herself she would invite who she wished to attend and ignored the wishes of the Committee of Public Accounts. That is the factual position. The commentary from that meeting has been reported through various media outlets. I am not taking issue with you but the whole thing about the invitation and who did or did not know is simply a red herring. It is obvious that Ms Kerins decided for herself who was going to attend.

I made the point at the previous meeting. Perhaps Mr. Flannery was in the House and did not even know he was expected to be before the Committee of Public Accounts. We still have not got to the end of that. In fact, the response from Angela Kerins on behalf of Rehab following the meeting was short of many facts and attempted further to create issues around the basic questions that members were asking. I apologise, Deputy Ross, but I wished to clarify the matter.