Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Functioning of the Department of Justice and Equality: Department of Justice and Equality

9:00 am

Photo of Colm BrophyColm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot understand the following. The Secretary General has said one cannot include a name in a Google search or anything like it and come up with all of the tens of thousands of documents available. The Department engaged in a process, a further trawl that had been requested by the Taoiseach, which produced additional information. The further trawl was completed within a number of days. Why did someone in the Department not conduct a trawl? Perhaps it was Mr. O'Callaghan who was in charge of it, but it did not actually do this. I want someone to explain to me why a trawl was not made? I am not asking the Secretary General to look for tens of thousands of documents and seek obscure references in one tiny document. Core people had information which seemed to be very pertinent. How can the Secretary General stand over her statement that she had complied fully with everything in the original request?

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.