Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

We are certainly aware of the submissions made by Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring to the committee and indeed the GSOC submissions.

We have put in place dedicated structures and single points of contact with the ombudsman commission. In its annual report for 2015, GSOC gives a figure of 93.6% for the compliance rate with requests for information, not just in regard to protected disclosures but generally. We have put mechanisms in place to seek continually to improve that. As of 1 September, Assistant Commissioner Corcoran has taken responsibility for that area. Separately, we have put in dedicated structures to ensure that where GSOC requires any information from us, that information is made available.

In regard to some of the recent commentary, my colleague, Deputy Commissioner Ó Cualáin, has been in contact with the ombudsman commission to ensure there is engagement. I understand a meeting will be held next week to make sure there are no blockages in the system. We are determined that any blockages will be unblocked. The purpose of the systems and the process we have in place is to ensure that happens as smoothly as possible. I will ask my colleague, Assistant Commissioner Corcoran, to comment at this point.