Dr. Ambrose McLoughlin:

I am quite clear that there were benefits accruing from the trips made by departmental officials. The reason I am being direct about this is I want to assure the Deputy and the committee that right now we have the strictest control of this type of travel. We have independent audit verification and I am satisfied that this could not happen again. Like Mr. O'Brien, a direct, honest reply to the simple question of whether I would have raised concerns is yes. I would probably have had some concerns raised and certainly would have had internal audit look at some of the issues raised. The Deputy must remember that of the 74 trips about which I was informed, six related to departmental officials. Many of the journeys made by officials relate to EU and other essential business related to public health and other issues and I need to keep the Deputy fully focused on the fact that it was a small number of trips and a small number of officials in the context of the Department. I reiterate that strict controls apply today in respect of foreign travel for departmental officials.