Mr. Justice Bryan McMahon:

Of course it is important that when informing the public, the information given is accurate. I do not know of anyone consciously trying to distort the situation. The McMahon working group, under my chairmanship, was very independent and truthful in what we saw, and we reported it as we saw it. Since then, all those who have participated in the system, and certainly the NGOs and individuals involved, have been very honest and open, as I have always tried to be. It is like anything. When one gives a dog a bad name, it will stick to it for a long time until the impression is reversed. It takes much longer to reverse a bad impression than to create a bad impression to begin with. The message needs to go out that the direct provision that was in place four or five years ago is not the same as the direct provision that is there now. It is not as bad.