Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Mr. O'Callaghan gave very good evidence the Department was notified about this in October. I have said before that for me and the public it is incredible the Department was not aware of the issues going back further. The Commissioner, to be fair to her, on numerous occasions stated that she believes the Department was aware. She said, "To clarify, it is clear that the Department had knowledge going back to 1988, though I am not sure of the exact date." To be fair to her, I do not think she could be sure. She continued, "There were indications, prior to the Commissioner becoming Accounting Officer, that the Department had an involvement in the structure put in place for a funding model for the Garda College." She also makes reference to 2008 and that there was a meeting with the Secretary General. For me, given that and what we have established through the other questions, it astounds me there was not knowledge in the Department about these issues. It also astounds me there was no knowledge of this. It is, frankly, incredible there was no knowledge. When the Secretary General became aware of these issues in 2015, what did he do? I presume he acted with great haste.