Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. They have tried to persuade us or impress upon us that no event triggered their decision in 2012 to have a sweep of their offices. I am not convinced. Nor am I convinced that nothing happened in 2013 to precipitate a repeat of that sweep.

What was found in the sweep in 2012? If nothing was found, it points to incompetence by the company that the commission hired, which has not been named despite its being out of business. I presume the company made a report, which the commission has somewhere. The commission needs to keep it secret in case it gets printed next Sunday.

Was it that the commission's second sweep, in 2013, was triggered by something in the first one, or why was there a need to repeat the sweep? The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission was set up in 2007. As far as I know, from what they have put on the record, only two sweeps of the offices happened and only since this commission came into being, and the previous commission did not carry out such a detailed security measure.

I have a question on the secret report others have mentioned. Mr. O'Brien has stated that he is trying to put it on the record before it comes out, possibly in the media. Has the commission given a copy of the secret report to the Minister and to An Garda Síochána? Will they divulge it publicly, even with redacted parts, prior to its being printed in the newspaper so that they can get the full extent on the record at their bidding rather than that of a journalist?