Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Breslin, as Accounting Officer, is ultimately responsible for the €15 billion budget that the Oireachtas gives him to spend wisely on its behalf.

There was a serious breakdown in information getting to Mr. Breslin, with the non-disclosure of information to 80% of the 208 women involved. It only emerged recently. That information could or should have been known about but was not known about. It goes without saying that Mr. Breslin considered that knowledge so serious that, had he known, he would have escalated it to the Minister promptly. He must be seriously regretting that the information was not given to him at an earlier date.