Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a final point. Mr. Purcell mentioned the various avenues of investigation in terms of the whistleblower situation, the O'Mahoney report, which has been discredited, and the files sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. Is it not fair to say that the DPP would only recommend a criminal prosecution where the level of evidence was beyond reasonable doubt? Surely someone in Mr. Purcell's Department or with the former Minister or former Garda Commissioner should have raised concerns that, leaving aside the question of a criminal prosecution arising from the issues raised by the whistleblowers, there was a significant lack of action on the part of someone in the Department, the former Minister or the former Garda Commissioner. The DPP would only recommend prosecution where a high bar was met, namely, it could lead to a successful conviction.