Ms Josephine Feehily:

There is no question, and I thought I was clear about this in my opening remarks and in my replies to questions, that we have known since March 2017 about professional tensions and the work being done. To suggest that those were not ventilated to the authority would be wrong. Looking back, the only possible course of action we might have taken might have been to ask the Garda Commissioner to include Ms West and Ms Galligan in the Garda delegation that came to meet us. That is the only way we could have got their voices formally into the room.

We had two telephone calls and, later, a letter which we cannot discuss because they have said it is confidential. During one of those telephone calls, they were given specific assurances that we were live to all of their issues and that all of their issues had been brought into those meetings. We have pursued all those issues in those meetings. That is what I was trying to convey when I said that was probably the most important service that we could do for them at that point, having been given knowledge by them and putting in writing to the Commissioner all of their concerns. They were all followed through and they were given that assurance. They were given an assurance on the telephone by my colleague that all of those concerns were on our agenda, would continue to be on our agenda and we persisted with them. I personally spoke on a number of occasions to senior people to make it clear that we were aware of the discontent and that we would not let this matter go unless the analysis service was satisfied.

The Deputy remarked that I was downplaying something in my opening remarks. I am in no way downplaying their evidence about how they were treated. What I am saying is that it is primarily an employment matter and, I imagine, it is a matter the Deputy will want to discuss with their employer when the Commissioner comes before the committee. I was simply echoing that my reaction to that testimony was that I found it deplorable. When listening to them, I wondered whether the authority's activity in May 2017 may have caused the pressure they described because we were pressing very hard for the report.