Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In an instance where, as Mr. Shanahan mentioned, the IDA does not ask for confidentiality, it might ask the Government about the meeting's status, whether it will be formal, will formal minutes be taken and where they will go. In this case, assurances were given that the meeting would be confidential and minutes would not be taken. To be straight with Mr. Shanahan, that worries me. He says that seeking confidentiality is not something the IDA does, which is fair enough. This is something that happened, though. Does the IDA have companies that would turn down or refuse meetings with Ministers? Has a company ever refused to meet a Minister on the basis that the minutes would be public or that they would not be confidential? Alternatively, is it Mr. Shanahan's experience that these companies are happy to meet Ministers regardless of whether minutes are taken and published?