Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I find it difficult to believe that before coming to this meeting, the Minister did not have his ducks in a row and did not know what text messages had come in from whom and when. I also find it difficult to believe that it is standard practice for people to delete text messages. I respectfully suggest that the Minister invest in either a new phone or some cloud back-up because that is not standard practice among people I know. I asked the Minister to provide a timeline on the run-up to this appointment and three times he referenced FOI and papers. Am I now to believe that he will provide to the committee a timeline of events in respect of this appointment only subject to FOI? Do we, as a committee of the Oireachtas, have to wait in line, like journalists who wish to report on this event in the media, in order to get access to this information and a full timeline relating to calls, text messages, WhatsApp messages, emails and conversations? Is the Minister telling the committee that it has to abide by FOI rules?