Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy that this is a serious matter. I undertake to share the report with the spokespersons present. While there are aspects to the report that I may not be able to publish as so doing in essence would compromise the security of the passport system itself, aside from that I wish to publish as much of the material as possible. It depends on one's definition of "conclusive". There are conclusions. Moreover, there have been conclusions to the British Serious Organised Crime Agency, SOCA, investigation. While its conclusions ultimately may not be definitive, I will cite the former British Foreign Secretary, Mr. David Miliband, who stated:

Given that this was a very sophisticated operation in which high quality forgeries were made, the [British] Government judges it highly likely that the forgeries were made by a State intelligence service. Taking this together with other inquiries and the link to Israel established by SOCA, we have concluded that there are compelling reasons to believe that Israel was responsible for the misuse of the British passports.

That was the British conclusion and was the level of conclusion to which they could arrive. I have been apprised of their report and have seen its essence. While our report makes conclusions, the Garda conclusion is not complete. Obviously, I will talk to the Deputies again in this regard. I hope to make a statement on this matter within the next couple of weeks. Before I make that statement, I will share its content with the Deputies.

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