Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

-----saying "we decided not to purchase in the end". The correspondence, which was leaked and which is not being disputed, referred to multiple contacts with this company and a number of meetings. Who was at those meetings? At what level were they? Even if the Minister cannot tell us specifically what the Defence Forces were looking to purchase, we are entitled to a little more detail than he has given us because it is a company about which serious concerns have been raised internationally. Warnings went out about the conduct of only five private sector companies and this happened to be one of them. I would like to know at what level inside the Defence Forces somebody thought it was a good idea for us to do business with them. I know the Minister cannot tell us everything and I am not sure whether he knows everything, but there is a contradiction between talking about transparency and so on and then seeking cover behind the old reliable, national security. We are entitled to more and the fact that nothing was bought is irrelevant.

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