Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have one short supplementary question. Perhaps Ms Crowe might be able to answer it. The threat to people who are in government was that if there is not some legislation like this, the imperative would be to destroy the records. There has been a genuine fear on the part of many, given what people with particular views in this area have done in the past. Does Ms Crowe think realistically that today, in the event of there being no legislation, there could be a view in the Department or the Office of the Attorney General that there is an imperative to destroy the records? That is part of the reason legislation like this has been offered. It is not that people intend to be destructive but they have been told and advised that the records may be destroyed in the absence of legislation. That is the kind of gun that is put to people's heads. Could people in the relevant Departments decide that they should implement what was seen to be in the deal? It was not just a promise. It was an agreement between the then Government and the then Minister. It was not reflected in law but it was certainly widely broadcast across the country. People like Ms McDonnell Byrne and the late Christine Buckley, who is sadly not here today, would have all been told that unless there is a structure, the records can all be destroyed. I would just like to ask Ms Crowe about that.