Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, I received answers to some questions. There was much more text but still very little information. The Taoiseach referred in the Dáil to the quality of answers I am getting and that has not changed. I am getting much more text but it says nothing. I asked a question on the Charleton liaison committee. We all know that there have been serious questions about this committee because the Garda Commissioner has used section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act to raise concerns in respect of it. This is only the second occasion on which that has happened in the State. The answer - in new information - indicates that the Taoiseach and Attorney General have been made aware of the details, along with the tribunal. Is that not correct?

From a functional perspective, the Department signed off on this orally in February. Questions were being asked and there was approval from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in May. That is not normal. Given that the Department has received a number of legal representations from whistleblowers saying they do not believe this unit is fair and should exist, or that its operations are helpful to the tribunal, did the Department not raise concerns internally about how it was operating?