Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I confirm I have not received the report. I understand it has been completed in recent weeks. The process is that if one is drawing any adverse conclusions about any individual, individuals or institution, they must be given an opportunity to respond, and that response has to be included before the report can be given to anybody, under natural justice and so on. For example, with regard to the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital inquiry, the response of the Medical Missionaries of Mary was included in the report. That has to happen.

That is the process which I understand is under way regarding the report of which we are talking. I think the report has been given either to individuals or institutions — I do not know who they are — against whom findings have been made. They are then given the opportunity to respond.

In a very different situation, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism recently commissioned a report into the activities of Bord na gCon, and the Attorney General advised him and the Cabinet that before the report could be published, the people mentioned in it, or identifiable though not mentioned by name, had to be given a period of time to consider what was said about them and respond. I think the period was 15 working days or something of that kind. That is fairly normal practice in these situations.

I presume that with regard to the report we are discussing, that period of time will shortly be up, and the Walsh family will then get the report, and it will be published. There would be no reason for the report if one were not to learn from what happened and make sure it cannot happen again.

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