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

Unfortunately I had a prior engagement and could not be at the meeting last week. I was astonished at the decision taken by the committee. To go back to first principles, before we come to the CPP or any other body, the reason the evidence from Sergeant McCabe was taken in private session was as a precaution to ensure neither the committee nor the sergeant, wittingly or otherwise, stepped outside our remit and made statements which would get the sergeant or somebody else into legal hot water. This is why we held the session in private. We did not hold a session in private because the people gathered around the committee room took a vow of secrecy. We did not hold a session in private in a bid to withhold legitimate information from the public domain. We held the session in private solely and specifically as a legal precaution. We need to remember this.

In light of this I believe we made it clear to Sergeant McCabe, at the end of the meeting when we discussed matters, that should he make an application to the committee for a transcript of his evidence, we would facilitate it.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why the committee would take the position to hold his testimony private. To guard it in that way seems outrageous and unnecessary. In the course of this debacle, for all sorts of reasons damage has been done, certainly in the mind of the public, to the idea of whistleblowers, whistleblowing within An Garda Síochána, how that is regarded and so on. We do more damage by needlessly insisting on not giving this man a transcript of his evidence, as requested by his solicitor. Members know I would have preferred to hear him in public session. I understand why that did not happen, but it is not credible for us to take the position that the man should not get a transcript of his own evidence or that we as a committee would not consider making that transcript public. That is what we should do and I see no reason not to. Therefore, the letter went to the clerk to the committee.

It is concerning that the committee took this decision last week. If, as the clerk advises, we must go through another Oireachtas structure to release that document, so be it. I would like a fuller explanation. I do not understand why that other structure could not give a copy of the transcript to Sergeant McCabe. Bear in mind, we ordinarily hear testimony from Accounting Officers and all sorts of other individuals in this committee room in public session. That is our normal practice. We heard Sergeant McCabe in private session simply to guard against any legal mishap. I do not believe that happened in the course of the meeting and I see no good reason to deny the sergeant a copy of the transcript of his evidence.