Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When the Deputy says I have known about this since June of last year, he should be very clear that I have outlined what the position was at the time. It is easy with hindsight to comment on the scale of the issue, but neither the Garda nor I knew the scale that is now very obvious and which emerged just at the press conference last week and in the reports to my Department around 14 March.

Another point to be made is that on Thursday, I think, the Garda Commissioner met the Policing Authority. As soon as the scale and seriousness of this emerged in its full form last week, I was in touch with the Policing Authority and arranged over the weekend to meet Josephine Feehily. Of course, I am in ongoing contact with her regarding the work she is carrying out. As I said, the Policing Authority is a very important oversight body for An Garda Síochána and is one that needs to be developed. It is also probably the appropriate body to conduct this independent investigation because under the legislation it can employ people to carry out, for example, professional forensic accounting to examine what has happened. I have faith in the Policing Authority.

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