Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is very significant that the Taoiseach stonewalled the question on when he first knew of the false allegations because to answer that question would require him to change his narrative on the issue again. Such was the importance of the Tusla revelations that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs apparently decided it would be best to leave to chance its inclusion in the terms of reference. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste stated they did not have the full details of the Tusla allegations but they could guess in advance that the terms of reference would be robust enough. Why did the Tánaiste not speak directly to Maurice McCabe before the terms of reference were finalised? The one individual who could have shed light on the full frame and necessity of this investigation was not part of the discussion.

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