Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Conlan is clearly a very experienced and accomplished person in his field. His CV is testimony to that. But what I hear from him is akin to “The dog ate me ecker” in response to reasonable questions that are being asked of him. I do not accept for a second that a person of Mr. Conlan’s experience and competence who is conversant with the issues at hand just accidentally forgot to ask for records of critical minutes to prepare himself for a meeting of an Oireachtas committee. He is in the Oireachtas now. As Mr. Conlan knows, this is the process of accountability. I find that very odd.

Could I put it to Mr. Conlan that, notwithstanding his explanation for his non-appearance at the committee meeting when he was invited, my perception is that when he resigned from the position it was because he wanted to wash his hands of the situation and run a million miles away from it? That was my sense of it, and I do not think I was alone in thinking that. Mr. Conlan’s actions and the level of evasiveness that he is demonstrating today suggest that this in fact remains his position. That is how I read it.