Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I spoke earlier about the disparity, or the delay, in informing the Minister in particular and the witness has expressed regret on that matter. I have adequately outlined how important it is to provide information even if it is not a full picture, in order to give that information across. The Garda Commissioner was fairly blunt in her opening statement, which I appreciate, but the matter that came to my attention yesterday on the publication of the internal audit was alarming to say the least. The sheer timescale of that report and previous reports, with partial implementation and then slip-back, was appalling.

One issue is most stark in all of this.

I will use the term misappropriation while others might use stronger terminology. When it came to the leasing of a farm that had been earmarked for certain facility upgrades to Templemore College, which was then leased to a farmer with the proceeds ending up, I understand, in the canteen and shop account that amounted to hundreds of thousands of euro. I do not have the report in front of me so I am guesstimating. Those moneys were then expended on whatever was deemed appropriate. There is a word that I would attribute to such activity. I shall parse myself carefully to say it would appear to be embezzlement because, when one thinks about the matter, it is receiving moneys that were not rightfully one's own and putting them into, effectively, one's own account and then using the moneys for personal reasons.