Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I hope the completion of the Barron work by the Department will not take too long. The only delays that have arisen in any of the reports seem to have happened when decisions were made on whether to redraft them on foot of debates, which always seem to take place, involving speculation about names. I think the reports on some of the other incidents, such as the bombings at Dublin Airport and Silverbridge, are shorter in substance than some of the others. I hope we will be able to move on the matter. I certainly will not delay it. The intention is to bring it to the Government and get it to the committee as quickly as possible after it has gone through the departmental system and the Office of the Attorney General.

Deputy Rabbitte correctly stated, in respect of the second issue, that Mr. MacEntee hopes to produce a report by late May. I have no reason to think he will seek a further extension, although he has sought a few extensions already. It depends on how he thinks he is progressing.

On the work by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the Garda files, Mr. MacEntee raised two issues in his first interim report. He raised the issue of criticism of archiving arrangements. He said that some documentation — he did not specify it — which was previously missing had been located. I interpret that reference as relating to Garda files. As I understand it, he is getting full co-operation on that aspect of his work. I am not sure what he will say about it all at the end. I have a feeling he will say things from bits that are picked up.

Deputy Rabbitte asked about Mr. MacEntee's references to "certain entities". The Department of the Taoiseach's interpretation of the matter is that Mr. MacEntee is talking about the British authorities. Having read the report carefully, I am aware that Mr. MacEntee does not explicitly refer to the British authorities, but that is how all my good colleagues interpret that reference. It seems to open up the possibility of co-operation with people who did not give information previously. I do not know whether it will come to anything significant, although obviously I hope it will.

There has been a variety of contacts, including one meeting of significance with the "certain entities" last month. As a result of these contacts, the commission has received information in the form of certain security and intelligence documentation, a portion of which the commission considers to be material to its investigation. I assume that information was not received previously. The information in question has been sought by the commission since last summer. While we are not aware of its significance, we are grateful that it has come across.

The commission has also received assurances from the "certain entities" that information relating to two separate parts of the investigation will be made available to the commission at the end of this month — now, in other words. As I understand it, the commission is confident that the information in question will come across. It is obvious that the information from my officials is just as we get it, but I understand that the contacts with the "certain entities" have opened up the possibility of meeting other individuals who are important to the investigation. To date, the commission has met one individual who has provided material assistance. It is actively seeking to contact two other individuals it believes may be able to assist in the investigation. That is the reason for the work and it appears to be a fairly hard line of progress.

See this speech in context