Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I asked him why I learned of it in the newspaper and why, if it was a section 102 investigation, I was not informed.

I do not want to misrepresent his explanation which was consistent with what is on page 6 of the transcript, which is that he got this before Christmas and considered whether he should do it and he did not do it and he now regrets that decision. It was no more than that. GSOC operates under specific statutory obligations which are twofold. The first is that when an investigation is commenced, there is an obligation to inform the Minister "of progress". No such report was made. I am not aware of whether GSOC met as a collective group and decided, because of an issue arising under section 103(2), not to report progress. That has never been suggested to me nor was it suggested to the committee. When the investigation was complete, they should have met again as a collective group and decided whether they should have reported. Simon O'Brien has apologised.

Let us be realistic about life; no one makes the right decision on every issue all of the time. I have no interest in pillorying any member of GSOC in any shape or form but it should not happen that something of this nature, which no one can say is not serious, has occupied a week and a half of Oireachtas time and a substantial amount of this committee's time. No Minister for Justice should be in a position where he or she discovers that this type of investigation was undertaken and that it was concluded with a conclusion of no Garda misconduct, no definitive evidence of surveillance, without the Minister being told and the Minister having to discover it in a Sunday newspaper. My obligation as Minister is to ensure I have information to furnish to Members of the Oireachtas. However, without receiving a report I cannot do so.