Ms Josephine Feehily:

I certainly would like to respond. The Deputy has described very well, better than I did, the point of conflict and risk regarding how we could get involved or not, as the case may be. I recall very clearly the Deputy raising this issue with me over a year and a half ago and I heard him then. I hope the robust nature of some of the reports we have written on Garda performance gives him some comfort that we have not been captured. It is the circular dilemma to which he referred. If people are to come to us in confidence, will we be conflicted if we hear them? Will we be conflicted if we meet them, as is being suggested, or would we better off in saying we will not even hear them? The approach we have taken is that we should hear people and treat what they disclose as intelligence, in other words, it is not named, and that we should then seek, through the official channels, something we could oversee by calling for a meeting or the production of a report. The Deputy has described very well how difficult it is to achieve this balance.