Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have not seen anyone across any of the people who come here regularly, because I cannot account for the ones who do not come here. Maybe they are not turning up for different reasons but I have no idea. For those of us who are here regularly, I have not seen anyone shy away and that means we are doing our job.

Where there is a case in which Accounting Officers, dare I say it, or others who are in some way connected to Accounting Officers etc., are actually using processes to possibly influence - I use these words very loosely - intimidate or have some form of consequence on the potential direction of this committee because it would have a political consequence for a member in here, that is very dangerous territory. I do not know how we should deal with it, Chair. I have had to deal with this down in Tipperary in terms of the obvious issue at Templemore, where the discourse around Templemore was that I was inside here, talking about the Committee of Public Accounts, and it was having consequences for tendering and so on. I have had direct political hits, continuously up until last week and I have had other commentary from other people, all because I did my job in here. Now we have an Accounting Officer directly taking on what is going on here in the Committee of Public Accounts. We need to set some ground rules and while I will be guided by the Chairman, we need to do something as otherwise people who come in here will do so, and I mean negative political value.