Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I intend no disrespect to the Deputy. I will try to work my way through the questions he asked.

Mr. Oliver Connolly - despite Members persistently making allegations - was not appointed as the confidential recipient as a result of making a contribution to my election campaign. As is well known on foot of my declaration following the 2007 general election, Mr. Connolly contributed €1,000 towards my campaign. I accept that it is popular for people not to believe this but I can quite adamantly and frankly state that said contribution had nothing to do with his appointment. Not only did it have nothing to do with it, I did not actually recall the contribution at the time of the appointment. What I did was consider who, in my view, was an appropriate person for appointment. Mr. Connolly, as everyone knows, headed up an mediation service called Friarylaw. In 2005, his service was named by the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform as one of the appropriate designated organisations to deal with mediation. Mr. Connolly was well known as a counsel and he had a good reputation. I had some engagement with him when I tried to encourage Friarylaw to provide mediation courses to solicitors operating in the area of family law. I did so because I was concerned to ensure that family lawyers would, in circumstances where family breakdowns had occurred, to resolve their problems through mediation rather than by means of litigation. I encouraged Mr. Connolly to provide a course for family lawyers. I recollect that I assisted him in putting together that course, free gratis, and that I might have contributed as a guest lecturer. Again, I did not get paid for my services.

My association with Mr. Connolly was, therefore, in the context of his being a very competent individual who was engaged in mediation internationally and domestically. He was recognised by one of my predecessors in the area of mediation and I thought he was an ideal person for appointment. I took the view that, in the context of the job he was doing, it was important that he should remain at arm's length. In light of the fact that his job would require him to engage with members of the Garda force, I was very conscious of the fact that much of his work had nothing to do with the Minister for Justice and Equality. That work relates to members of the force making complaints and allegations that would be transmitted directly to the Garda Commissioner. A complaint or allegation would only come to me if it related to the Garda Commissioner.

The Deputy referred to a letter I received on 23 January 2012. The allegations detailed in that letter were of a most serious nature. Mr. Connolly was very anxious to ensure that I read the letter. I recollect that we had a very brief conversation when he was seeking an assurance that I had read it. That was the extent of our conversation. I would not tell the Deputy the date on which that conversation took place and I have no note of it occurring. However, I recollect that this was a matter in which Mr. Connolly sought to ensure that I had received and read the relevant documentation. That was the extent of our engagement on the matter, with the exception of the correspondence that followed from the response I received from the Garda Commissioner on 30 January.

See this speech in context