Ms Eadaoin Collins:

I have read the report. The account that was published outlines the findings of Judge Aylmer. Judge Aylmer's ruling in itself is extremely clear. He has identified the investigative shortcomings. In essence, the most significant shortcoming was around the collection of evidence. It led to some of the judge's findings around contamination of witness statements. Those were procedural issues as opposed to a weakness in the legislation. Judge Aylmer did not find any deficiencies in the legislative process. However, it is clear that procedures needed to be changed and they have been changed to ensure a Garda takes the lead in the collection of evidence from witnesses. The staff of the office have undergone specialised training in witness statements. The Bill builds on the reforms in the collection of evidence by promoting the ongoing, very close working relationship that the office has with An Garda Síochána.

Another issue was that the office lacked the depth of experience in criminal investigations which led to some of the shortcomings in the collection of evidence. This pointed to the need for specialist recruitment. The lack of forensic accountant capability at the time for the scale of the multiple investigations being undertaken was another issue. The report also pointed to the lack of inhouse digital expertise. Those reforms have been addressed. The office will continue to evolve and its skills needs will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. As outlined earlier, the office, as an agency, will have enhanced powers to recruit and retain staff. This speaks to some of the skills and staffing deficiencies.

A key finding was that the office was not equipped to undertake multiple complex investigations in parallel. This will be addressed by the new structure. The structure as set out in the Bill is a commissioner-type structure. This provides the flexibility for the organisation to change its working structures and relationships to cope with an increase in workload. On the lack of digital capability that existed at the time, the office has recruited a digital forensic specialist and forensic accountants and it has built a new digital infrastructure. Even though legislative deficiencies were not identified, we have considered some of the enhanced powers that the agency may need, one of which, as outlined by my colleague in the opening statement, is enhanced powers of search and entry for information stored digitally. We are evolving the Bill to enhance the capacity of the office. We are addressing the skills issues and the collection of evidence issues in the Bill.