Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 11, inclusive, together.

All the recommendations of the 1995 report of the review group on the Office of the Attorney General have been substantially implemented. In some cases, further developments have occurred in the intervening 11 years to enhance the means by which those recommendations were implemented.

One of the recommendations of the 1995 report was that "all important and sensitive cases (including every extradition case and cases involving minors) should be brought to the personal attention of the Attorney General". That recommendation was implemented by way of a number of protocols and practice directions within the office. They have been supplemented and updated since, notably in 2002 and 2004.

Following the recent Supreme Court decision in the CC case, additional procedures have now been put in place to address a communications failure that resulted in the Attorney General not being informed about that case other than in the context of nominating counsel on 5 December 2002 to represent jointly the interests of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General. Details of those are contained in the document I circulated to Deputies on 7 June 2006. Copies of that document have also been placed in the Oireachtas Library.

As I informed Deputies in the course of the detailed discussion about the communications failure during Leaders' Questions on 7 June 2006, a review was instituted to identify any aspects of the organisation structure, systems, procedures or staffing arrangements within the Office of the Attorney General that may require to be amended to ensure that an information and notification deficit does not recur. The report of that review will be published shortly.

See this speech in context