Mr. Tony O'Brien:

When I re-read them, I was surprised to discover that I had been interrupted in my information-giving 79 times - so much so that in one exchange, I could not quite figure out what the question was and what the answer was either. I was very clear. I said that the three persons about whom I had most concerns - I had three people in mind based on the information I had at that stage - had left the service. I was not correctly informed about one of them. I was equally clear that a range of other people who were also involved were still employed in the public service. In that case, I was clearly referring to the HSE and Tusla. It actually took me quite some time to get back to saying it. Another Deputy gave me the opportunity to complete my answer much later on in the proceedings. At no stage did I ever give this committee a reassurance that nobody involved in this process was still working in the public service. I think there is a view that I gave such a reassurance. The transcript simply does not bear that out.