David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a bit more than splitting hairs, to be fair, although I understand the point the Chairman makes about the FOI request. There are two elements to this. The FOI request is one but there are also the answers the director general gave to the issue as to whether some of those involved in the decision-making regarding the Grace case are still working in the public service. That was the question he was asked. Even in his correspondence to us he restates this and at length goes through the individuals' involvement with the HSE, as if that were the question asked. That was not the question asked. With respect to the Chairman, it took us a few hours to get some information from the director general when he appeared before the committee before. For the first time he did place on the record, because of questions from members of the committee, that a second person does in fact work for Tusla. If we did not have that hearing and if the director general had not come before us, the public would not be aware of that. We would still be none the wiser. The reason we asked him to appear before the committee in the first place was to correct the record of a previous hearing and question marks remain as to evidence he presented to us at the last hearing. It strikes me overall - and I say this generously to the director general - that trying to get straight answers to straight questions from him is like trying to get blood from a stone. As we all said the last time he was here, given the gravity of the issues involved, that is unacceptable. We have therefore requested that he come before the Committee of Public Accounts again. We will obviously be guided by other members as to whether they feel that is appropriate. However, given that the issues are so serious and that all we are trying to do is correct the record of the Committee of Public Accounts and get straight answers to questions, that is the very least we deserve. We have a job to do. The Chairman said the last time that we will not be stonewalled by anyone and will not allow anyone to come before the committee, give inaccurate information and then walk away and that is it. We must put down a marker as a committee that such stonewalling is simply not acceptable.