Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and the Minister for his presentation. At the outset, it would be remiss of us not to revert to the Maura Quinn report which was published this week, given we are discussing expenditure within the Minister’s Department at this meeting. I have to say I was concerned about the approach the Minister took to that report and the statement he issued on its eventual publication. The Minister talked about the future and about learnings and lessons for the future. Would he accept, however, that he cannot move ahead and cannot learn lessons unless there is accountability for what has already happened? We are looking at a situation where the most senior official in the Minister’s Department, his Secretary General, took a decision to spend a substantial amount of public money without going through the proper protocols or approvals.

We know from the report that the Minister’s Secretary General’s account of events is at complete variance with the account of events from the then Taoiseach’s chef de cabinetas well as that of the Secretary General to the Government. Deirdre Gillane’s comments were very trenchant. She did not hold back at all and she talked about the Minister’s Secretary General’s account being grossly inaccurate, and she used the word "fatuous". She said the claims were wholly without foundation.

Surely, the Minister cannot allow that situation just to sit. This is a situation where the Taoiseach’s senior adviser is saying quite clearly that the account provided by the Minister’s Secretary General is not accurate. Whose accounts of events does the Minister believe?