Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not think it would be appropriate for me to give my views in a place like this in terms of the judgment of anyone within the Department. Ultimately, they all report into me. Any conversations like that I would have directly with civil servants within the Department. What I can say is there were important safeguards or protocols that had yet to be gone through. That is absolutely correct.