Mr. Martin Callinan:

He was confronted and asked what he was doing. He indicated he was working with the other member at the centre of this particular issue to supply information and documentation to an elected representative. The sergeant asked him why he was doing it and that he did not think he should be doing it, and they had a conversation. He reported the matter and this is when I became aware there were two people, as one of them indicated he was working with another member of the Garda Síochána, in trawling a system looking for wrongdoing and reporting it to an elected representative. This was the first occasion I became aware of it. Following on this, and within a week or so, on 14 December I sent a direction to both individuals and told them - I directed them - to desist from what they were doing, that they were in breach of the Data Protection Act and probably other offences also, and if they had any issues, problems or complaints that they should contact the assistant commissioner dealing with a very wide investigation on wrongdoing, without prejudice - and this is important - to their entitlement to go to the confidential recipient. This is important. We heard nothing from them until one of them used the anti-fraud process in June last year. Previous to that, before the Assistant Commissioner embarked on his allegations inquiry, one of them had gone through the anti-fraud process.