Mr. Feargal Ó Coigligh:

To clarify, I had no knowledge of the detail or the seriousness of the issue until it was brought to my attention after 26 June 2024 when the accounts were signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General. They were formally submitted on 24 July. My intention, as clearly shown in the terms of reference of the study, was there would be an interim report in September which we could bring further. However, that was not possible. I made the decision that it was preferable to find out what happened before going to the Government. I appreciate people will disagree with that decision. That was a decision I made-----