Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests, Transparency International and Mr. Mick Clifford. It has been a very informative session. I pay tribute to their enormous work over the years in this area. Some things they have said in both submissions are stark with regard to the delays in investigation, accountability as to who undertakes an investigation, and the issue of penalisation.

My first question relates to who should conduct an investigation. I note Mr. Clifford said in his submission that many cases are farmed out to external agencies for investigation. I would like to hear the perspectives of TI and Mr. Clifford on who should undertake an investigation. Should it be solely an external agency or does it need to be a public body? Do we need to standardise that process? I am aware of a protected disclosure at the moment about which there is an argument between two Departments as to who should be investigating. I would like to hear the perspectives of the witnesses on best practice in terms of who investigates.