Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Certainly, Chairman. For the record, I would say that prior to the committee receiving any legal steer on these matters, I, as an individual, had sought advice from the parliamentary legal adviser. In fact, I understand I was the first person to bring the dossier to the attention of that individual. At every step anything that I have done or said has been guided by the legal advice afforded to me but I agree with the Chairman. We in the Committee of Public Accounts should strive to do as much as we can and the options have been set out. I do not think there is any disagreement on that. I remind committee members that we were told very clearly by that same legal adviser that we would run into issues around the Abbeylara judgment in terms of how we deal with these issues. That is where not only this committee, but any committee of the Oireachtas, runs into the sand. That was in the part the rationale for taking the decision and making the statement that I am fully entitled to make as a Member of the Oireachtas on the floor of the Dáil yesterday. I would point out to Deputy Deasy that in the final analysis I am answerable to those who elect me for the utterances I make rather than, with all due respect, to a Fine Gael member of this committee.