Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll:

Issues arose in the Department which led to a particular crisis at the time. There may also have been a rush to judgment in the political system, on reflection. A number of issues arose in the way things happened at that time. Part of what happened was as a result of failures within the Department and nobody would deny that for a moment. I want to be very clear. I want to do more than just fix the problems of the past. We are trying to address the possibilities of the future. The ERG report reflects on the issues in the Department of Justice and Equality and makes a telling point that the issues which arose in it at the time could have arisen in any Department. As a person who has had the singular honour of being a Secretary General of two Departments, I can confirm that is the case.