Mr. Martin Fraser:

I was not interfering with the committee. I was making a number of points which it is my job to make. As such, I made them. I think they are important. The first point was that the Presidency is above politics. The second was that my role as Accounting Officer is different in relation to Áras an Uachtaráin than it is in relation to the Department of the Taoiseach. The third point was that there is a very profound constitutional issue which everyone accepts here. The fourth point was that I was worried about political impartiality in the context of an election campaign, as I am in any other situation. Finally, I made the point that the President is, of course, open to scrutiny and will be in the election campaign. I felt they were important points to make.