Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Yesterday I raised questions with the Taoiseach about the integrity of the criminal prosecution system following the collapse of the case against Mr. Dermot Laide in the Circuit Criminal Court and the responsibility of Government to maintain the integrity of that system. The Taoiseach pleaded he was inadequately briefed and could not deal with my questions. However a spokesperson for the Government last night reassured the public that it believed no other cases would collapse like the Dermot Laide case because of the infirmity of the former eminent State pathologist, Dr. John Harbison. While that assurance is welcome, I would like to get it on the record of this House rather than a fleeting statement on the RTE news.

Now that I am sure the Taoiseach has been briefed, has a note and has spoken to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, as he told me he would, I would like to ask my questions again. Yesterday's attempt to muddy the waters about the roles of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform did not help. The State pathology service is directly contracted to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Minister, not the DPP, is responsible.

Does the Taoiseach now say issues about Dr. Harbison's availability to give evidence, and the reliability of that evidence, have not arisen in any case in the criminal courts before the Dermot Laide case? I ask the Taoiseach to be precise and to tell the House the answer to the questions I raised yesterday. When did the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform become aware that Dr. Harbison's infirmity may have this kind of impact? When did he put the DPP in possession of all the information? Given the onerous disclosure duties on the DPP in criminal trials, it is important to know when the DPP was put in possession of this information.

I have not been reassured by the fact that we have not heard from the Minister for 24 hours. I challenge any Member of the House to give me an instance when that has happened since he became Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Government dealt with this important question. While we are accustomed to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform speaking on behalf of the Government on any issue, we are not accustomed to the Government speaking on behalf of the Minister. Here is the man who told us on "Questions and Answers" on Monday night and in The Irish Times yesterday that he was dismissive of the idea of two State pathologists. He said it could not be entertained. This morning we heard on "Morning Ireland" that the Scottish system is to be applied here and we will have two State pathologists. I want to know why the Minister has been silent for 24 hours and what he told the Taoiseach about when he came into possession of this knowledge that has serious implications for the integrity of the criminal prosecution system.

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