Mr. Tony O'Brien:

In these settings, where the Committee of Public Accounts is doing what it normally does around accounts and value-for-money audits, the typical thing is that the Accounting Officer - in this case, me - would sit here and put up a robust defence of everything that has been done. I think we can agree that is the normal fare. It is not unnatural, therefore, that the committee might perceive that that is how I see my function here today. I do not see it that way. I am not in any way seeking to defend what happened to any of the individuals who suffered harm or may have suffered harm as a result of failings in regard to this foster care centre. My opening remarks were intended to convey that I believe that this is an egregious situation and that terrible things have happened. In response to questions about the issue of the release of documents and so on, in seeking to explain that I have obviously had to focus on those issues. That should not be to the exclusion of the fact that my rationale is that, ultimately, I need to preserve the potential for justice to be done - justice in the name of all of the citizens who have been disadvantaged as a result of these failings. Sometimes I am put in a position of answering questions about a specific thing which may result in my seeming to be arguing certain things, but that is not the case. The whole purpose of my statement was to be clear. I was very clear, I think, on the radio on Sunday. This is a terrible situation. I have no agenda of seeking to defend what went wrong, but I do have an obligation to create the conditions in which justice can be served. That is it.