Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. It has gone up 12% for the director and her staff, and it provides for the recruitment of extra staff to deal with the increased workload in the office and for the payment of increases arising from the Building Momentum public service pay agreement. The DPP's office will always be looking for additional resources, and I believe there was a need for additional resources. We provided those this year and we will keep it under review. It is a fundamental office.

The DPP's office is independent in the conduct of its work. To be fair, I know the Chairman has been a very strong advocate in the Grace case and in the Shane O'Farrell case. I cannot comment on that and I do not know the context of the inner workings for what leads the Director of Public Prosecutions to make a decision on whether particular cases are to be prosecuted. That is beyond my remit. It is an independent office. It has to be independent in how it does its work. It has been a long-standing principle that we do not interfere with the Office of the DPP. Most democracies maintain that divide.