Mr. Martin McMahon:

I certainly think the Committee of Public Accounts will have a busy few months seeking answers from the Department of Social Protection, the social welfare Bills office, and more answers from the Revenue Commissioners which its representatives could not provide when they were before the committee last time and which they knew nothing about. I count myself as a whistle-blower. As a whistle-blower, there is no forum in the State where I can sit down and explain in detail from start to finish exactly what is happening and all the nuances involved. This is a very brief meeting. It is two hours long with five minutes for an opening statement. It is not just an issue for me, but it is one for all other whistle-blowers. No forum exists within the State where we can sit down and tell our stories, our way, without fear of reprisal. It does not exist and that is not accidental. That is on purpose. They do not want whistle-blowers blowing the whistle and that is what I am doing. I am blowing the whistle on bogus self-employment. In the absence of a forum in which I can sit down and tell the story from start to finish, the Committee of Public Accounts is the only forum.