Clerk to the Committee:

Deputy Deasy has captured it. When I approached the senior officials in the organisation, I was told we could be setting a dangerous precedent along the lines described by the Deputy, in that we could not guarantee the privacy or security of evidence given in private session if private meetings were transcribed and made available to the public. This is the concern of the Oireachtas. For this reason, I was advised to send the matter to the CPP. Under Standing Order 99, the CPP has an oversight role in terms of procedure and can deal with the matter and make a call. My difficulty in advising the committee was that we needed to go through that loop if we decided to grant a transcript to Sergeant McCabe. That is where we left the matter.