Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for his statement. I accept his apology to the committee and I thank him for it. There is no doubt, however, that the tweet was hurtful and that it was a glorification of what happened at Narrow Water. The Chairman's words from when we started our work ring true, namely, that we need to leave party politics at the door. We are here on behalf of the Oireachtas to scrutinise public bodies and other bodies. That said, I accept his apology. I do not think this is the place to scrutinise the tweet. That is for the Dáil Chamber and it is for the Chairman and his party to reflect on whether they want to deal with the matter in that forum.

I would not classify the tweet as clumsy. I do not say the Chairman did so. I hope that when he says he apologises for the tweet, it will not happen again. That is an important element because, as he rightly points out, this is a very prestigious committee within the Houses and there is an extra onus on him, as Chair. I know he accepts that and I know he understands it now.

I hope, however, that we will not have this situation in respect of the Chairman again because it puts the committee into disrepute and it is something we do not want to see again. I thank the Chairman for his statement.