Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

One cannot win on this issue as one either provides too much or too little. The information was provided. It was not a case of providing it and bringing it over in wheelbarrows. It was carefully copied, indexed, catalogued, put on a database and provided to the commission. All information was supplied.

The commission began using discovery orders later on because it felt that, as it was using them for other respondents, it should do so for the Department. We endeavoured in every way we possibly could to comply with those discovery orders. Of the 16 orders made against the Department, 12 were fully met within agreed timeframes. There were difficulties with four orders, one of which is still outstanding for reasons I have referred to.

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