Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Regarding prosecutions undertaken by the special investigations unit, does Mr. Gleeson have a figure for the number of cases that have been taken over the last five years? Obviously, some will be successful and some will not. Are there also figures for the cases that might have been withdrawn? A very high-profile case was withdrawn on 29 January last year, Department of Agriculture v. Brian Wright. Did the Department calculate the cost of the investigation up to the point it was withdrawn? It was on the way into the court when it was withdrawn and had a fairly big animal welfare backstory. It was a very surprising case. A letter was sent to the Department from a Minister and it was withdrawn after that. Can Mr. Gleeson tell us what the rationale was for withdrawing that case? What was the cost of the work to bring that case to the point where it went to court?