Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

——and the tribunal was established in May 2002. Some people have argued that in those circumstances there was reluctance on our part to take action. This is not the case. In January 2002, the appendices to the Carty report were finally delivered to me as Attorney General as requested by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform from the Garda Síochána. It was only at that point that the legal advisers advising me on the civil matters came to the conclusion that there was a very serious series of conspiracies to pervert the course of justice.

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