Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

He does say in his last line that he would like to request that I would make sure that at future meetings he is not placed in an unfair position again. He feels that it was unfair to the extent that I did stop the conversation. As Chairman, I will be more strict. I will require two things. I will want witnesses to answer questions but I will also want committee members to treat witnesses with respect. We cannot be haranguing witnesses although I am not saying that happened on any particular occasion. We will expect answers to straightforward questions and at the same time we will treat witnesses with respect. It is my job, as Chairman, to ensure that happens. We will expect a level of candour. On that particular point, the specific question that the Deputy put, in terms of whether the Secretary General attended-----