Mr. Brian Purcell:

What I am saying is that during the time in question there was ongoing engagement with the Minister in regard to Sergeant McCabe. Much of it concerned the penalty points issue but we did have engagement on the allegations made by Sergeant McCabe on the other matters, which we have considered. Letters were sent from the Minister to the confidential recipient. That, in effect, shows that there was consultation.

I mentioned earlier that the report stated there was no analysis, and that the documentation was sparse. This was regarded by Mr. Guerin as an issue. To be honest, it would have been better had we kept minute details on the notes regarding any conversations that took place in that regard, but to say that there was none is not true. There was engagement, discussion and analysis. As I stated, I went into detail explaining the analysis of what was happening. I refer to the three points - the Garda Commissioner, GSOC itself and the Officer of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Let me make one point that may not be strictly related. There was a lot of commentary that nothing happened with regard to these allegations and the penalty points issue but, as I have indicated, there were a significant number of developments. In fact, the report that was commissioned by the Minister from the Garda Inspectorate in one way proved just how independent the inspectorate was. The inspectorate produced a report that was very hard hitting and damning of the way the fixed-charge processing system functioned.