Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the most senior civil servant advising the Taoiseach and the Cabinet, I assume Mr. Fraser has meetings on a weekly or more frequent basis with Government advisers, the chef de cabinet and perhaps Ministers, and I am sure he is well used to a situation where eleventh-hour issues come before the Cabinet, for example, a couple of hours before a Cabinet meeting something urgent arises that he must deal with. Does he have a role in adjudicating whether something can be deferred to the next Cabinet meeting because it is not urgent? Second, with respect to the Zappone appointment, did Mr. Fraser not feel that it had not gone through the process and procedures and that it needed to be delayed for a couple of days?

By the way, I agree with what Mr. Fraser said, that at the time the decision was made this was not a major item of discussion. However, it is the little things that get us every time. I would be interested to know what he thinks about that.