Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ms McPhillips has offered the view that a great deal of work goes on in this hard-working Department, in which many committed public servants are working. There is no question about that. The view expressed by Ms McPhillips is shared by all members of the committee and all Members of the Dáil, but as a committee, we have a responsibility. There has been an effort in the media to dismiss this issue and everything connected to it as something of a phantom, particularly in relation to some representatives of the Government. Obviously, the treatment of a whistleblower is an issue of serious public concern. There is great interest in the actions that could and should have been taken by the Minister and the Department. We need to learn more about their responsibility for and knowledge of the approach taken to the whistleblower in question. Notwithstanding the work the Department does, it is important that these issues be explored carefully.

I have a number of questions. In her opening statement Ms McPhillips said:

Irrespective of the topic, the Department's advice to a Minister would consistently be that he or she should not be involved in any way in a case to be presented by a party before a commission. Department officials also gave evidence to the commission, as they have to previous commissions, and they certainly did not consult or inform the Minister or the Department in relation to their evidence. It would have been quite improper for them to do so.

In that case, why was the Minister informed? Why was it felt, on foot of conversations with the Office of the Attorney General or the officials who had taken note of these conversations, that it was necessary for the Minister to be informed? There is a degree of inconsistency in saying the Minister had no relationship and nothing to do with anything that was happening at the commission, given that she was kept briefed and informed about what was happening there.