Mr. Michael O'Sullivan:

We need to highlight, as I stated, from the basis of what we examined in detail, whether a lot of the recommendations had been taken on board, but they were not. The ICT budget did not exist, hence we had to operate a system on a piecemeal basis which is what created many of these issues. It does not matter who was watching. These issues would still have arisen because in my view, and in the view of the other external agencies which examined the system, it needed to be rebuilt, not patched up. I highlighted the changes in staff.

We should await the report of the Policing Authority which is due in the next week or two. Part of its terms of reference are the role of behaviour on the various ranks during this period in relation to both reports. The supervisory environment and the role played by the various supervisory ranks are also part of the terms of reference. They also include a review and assessment of the process employed, the outcomes of each and the investigations carried out by me. It would be very wise, in relation to those issues in particular, to await the independent examination which is due next week or the week after.